A Family Stolen
by Nature9000
Summary: When tragedy strikes, one's instinct is to turn to a protector; but when the Vega family is kidnapped, the police are told look away. No savior can be found. Tori's friends take matters into their own hands. The search takes them through some of the family's most intimate secrets, can the group hold their resolve as the smoke clears, or will time run out for the Vegas?
1. Taken

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

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Chapter 1 (Taken)

Jade sat with Beck and the others at Tori's house, each contemplating their choices for college upon graduation of high school. She had several options herself, but wanted to go wherever Beck would be. As of current, that was UCLA. "Andre, are you still thinking about Louisiana?"

Andre shuffled past the recliner that Tori was sitting and started to nod. "You know, I'd love to see New Orleans. Besides, my girlfriend's down there." Jade didn't know much about his girlfriend, or how the two met. According to Andre, she lived in the house his family had before he moved to live with his grandmother. "Then again, she's been thinking of coming here."

Jade tapped her fingernails on her leg and looked to Tori, who'd been silent for much of the night. She wanted the girl to start talking, but wasn't pushing it since she'd been acting different lately.

Even now, Tori appeared troubled as she was every time she hung out with them lately She talked less and less about her family, which Jade wasn't complaining much about; yet it concerned her greatly.

"What about you Tori? You haven't said anything about where you're going for college." In all honesty she was shocked, because it was during their junior year they all started talking about where they might want to go; and Tori never once mentioned the slightest idea of a college. "You've never talked about college."

Tori glanced over with a nonchalant expression and raised up her shoulders. "She's probably going to some drama school," Andre remarked. Tori's brow furrowed and the girl's lips pursed. Jade leaned back slowly, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

Andre leaned over, gently tapping the back of his hand on Tori's kneecap. "Right Tor?" He smiled brightly. Tori's nose wrinkled and her she leaned away from him.

Robbie swept his hand through the air and Jade watched Tori's eyes snap onto him. "She's probably going to a singing or dancing college. Juilliard's her school."

Tori's fingers closed on her knees, her knuckles looking white as bone. Her distress wasn't as confusing as it seemed, since Jade could understand the friends were unintentionally 'choosing' Tori's college.

"Maybe I want to take a year off," Tori replied with a flat, monotonous tone. It startled Jade, but the others didn't appear to react. "Maybe you guys don't know what I want; or you think you know, but you don't. Making my predictions, but you don't know me. I know me." The others blinked and Jade jerked her head back.

She was mildly offended, but it was hard to be truly offended when she understood where Tori was coming from. Even still, this was the first time Tori voiced any displeasure with their actions.

For an odd reason, the Fray's song _Save a Life_ came to her mind when she looked at Tori tonight. "Is something wrong?" Jade inquired. Tori smiled politely, staring through her as though she were transparent. On a normal night, she would be more self-centered, but tonight she was actually _trying_ to start being a better friend.

The only problem was that the others didn't appear to want to change their ways; or if they thought their ways were wrong at all they didn't notice. Half the time, she didn't think even she acted poorly. In the last few months she'd been trying to work on herself.

Tori bit her lip and bowed her head. "I guess." Jade leaned forward and watched her closely. The girl's demeanor appeared to change as the muscles in her arms tensed up and her body began to shake. "No." Tori exhaled and raised her head. "There are things you don't know about me, about my family. Things I haven't said because I don't know how, I'm not even sure I can trust that you won't judge."

Jade started to speak, wanting to question why Tori thought they would judge her, but was interrupted by Andre. "Why can't you trust us?" He put his hand to his chest and jerked backwards. "We've been friends how long and you can't trust us?" Tori's lips flattened and she narrowed her eyes.

An explosion was coming and she had no idea how to diffuse it.

In the background somewhere, Jade heard someone singing _Total Eclipse of the Heart_. At first, she thought it might be Trina, but brushed it aside because she still didn't believe Trina had singing capability.

The others turned around, looking at the stairwell. Tori followed them with her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Trina sometimes sings when she takes a shower and gets out to brush her hair." Jade raised an eyebrow. Andre shook his head and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Can't be Trina, that's actually not terrible singing. I mean that's good for like karaoke, lord knows Trina can't even hold a tune."

"It's not like she tries to sing." Tori's statement snapped like a coiled snake striking out in defense. "She doesn't even like to. That stupid school forced her to get on the stage and perform, so she did shitty performances hoping they'd put her up less." The others laughed, filled with disbelief. Jade remained silent, wondering if the statement were true.

While she sat, she observed the anger flashing through Tori's eyes. There was a hint of pain in them as well. Jade couldn't probe for information with the others there, so she'd have to wait.

She didn't care for Trina, much like the others, but this was the first time Tori appeared to defend her sister at all-much less care about the girl. The others started to comment, some statements making fun of Trina, but Jade ignored them and looked around to observe some things around the house that she felt like she'd not taken the opportunity to notice before.

There were ample photographs of the family on the walls and the tables around the living room, but the family pictures seemed to be standard Walmart portraits while pictures of the two sisters showed them to be fairly close. Her breath caught in her throat and she pondered what this could possibly mean.

She looked towards the study to see David staring out the door with a cold and bitter look in his eyes. She gasped out and her hand moved up towards her throat. When their eyes connected, he turned away. The coldness unnerved her, and deep down she couldn't help but to fear the reason for such animosity.

"Listen." Tori folded her arms across her chest and pulled the corner of her lip into her cheek, forming a dimple around it. "You guys…" She hesitated, her words appearing to be choked. "You guys don't understand. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I know how judgmental you are. My parents know, _Trina_ knows, of course." Jade rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's not good."

"So?" Robbie shrugged. "Who cares what they think? They're crazy, anyway." Tori scowled at him and her muscles tensed further. "Besides all that, what's got you like this?"

"You just don't get it." Tori swept her right hand out, snapping her fingers. "Trina's boyfriend's coming home." Jade's eyebrows shot up and she stifled a disbelieving chuckle. The others were quick to question, each wondering how Trina could have possibly gotten a boyfriend.

Tori, appearing even more annoyed, let out a subtle growl in response to them. "He's in the Marines. He's been stationed elsewhere for a few months now." Tori straightened her posture, arching her shoulders and sliding her brown ponytail over her shoulder. Jade could see the pride glistening in her eyes. "He's even got Trina wanting to enlist."

Her heart rose and swelled with pride. She came from a military family too and had a great deal of respect for those who were soldiers. Her father wasn't a soldier, though; it had been her mother and her maternal grandparents.

As amazed as she was, she was shocked to hear Trina not only had a boyfriend, but a military man. "You're not kidding?" Jade flashed a grin and leaned forward. "Trina's dating a Marine?" The others started to laugh and the pride on Tori's face instantly fell to annoyance.

"That can't be possible." Robbie waved his hand through the air, chortling loudly. "Trina hasn't been able to land or keep a _normal_ guy, there's no fucking way a _Marine_ would have the patience for her."

Jade blinked as she listened to the words, then turned her head to Beck. Beck had been silent for much of the conversation, and even now appeared very solemn. His eyes were moving from person to person, his mouth was closed and his body relaxed. When he looked at her, his eyebrows bounced and the corner of his lip slid into his cheek as though he were feeling what she was.

The laughter and the words she heard were not new to her; but the feeling of discontent and irritation at them was. She never thought about how it would feel to hear them.

"I'm not lying." Tori's teeth were clenched and her voice was beginning to rise. "Trina's dating a Marine. He was stationed overseas for a little over a year and he's coming home. Just ask her!"

"We'd take your word for it, but honestly how could anyone want to be with _that_?" Jade wrinkled her nose and tilted her head as Robbie's words penetrated her skull. Her heart was sinking further and the temperature in the room seemed only to grow hotter as sweat formed at her collar.

Tori's glare darkened, her fingers gripping her clothing more and her face turning red. "What do you mean 'that'?"

"You know," Andre replied, "That thing that lives in your house." He chuckled nervously and Jade raised her hand over her eyes. Peering through her fingers, she looked to Cat. The redhead was fumbling with her large pink purse, focusing on the contents; but every now and then her eyes would dart in and out of the conversation.

"Jade," Beck whispered, "What's on your mind?"

"I don't know," she answered back in the same tone. Something didn't feel right; it was like they've had the same conversation a million times before and she was seeing it for the very first time. "Do you feel like this is a little bit…uncomfortable?" He shrugged, his hand moving over his chin and his brooding eyes falling onto his two lifelong friends.

"This is nothing new. Everyone's always insulting Tori's sister and parents."

"I know. So why does this feel weird?"

"Because Tori's played along in the past, so everyone just does it because they think it's funny and there's no harm. This is the first time that it looks like it's genuinely bothering Tori…Andre and Robbie aren't seeing that…"

"Has it always bothered her?"

"I think so, but you've never noticed either."

She looked away, contemplating his words. She didn't want to admit it, but he was right. In the past, she'd always considered Tori a threat to her relationship with him and therefore reacted out of jealousy and distaste for the girl; it would have been impossible for a genuine friendship to start because she'd been so resistant.

Now, as she was growing out of that, she was beginning to pay more attention to the feelings of her friends; and that included Tori.

"Why did you never speak up, Beck? Why did you never say anything if you knew it was offending her?"

"Because she never said anything? Because if I said something, you would have thought it meant something that it didn't. Because it would have been hypocritical, I've done some bad shit too."

"Do you think Trina's capable of having a boyfriend? A soldier, no less?"

"Of course she's capable of finding and keeping someone who cares about her…if you find the right person, you're gold. Look at you." Jade blushed and turned her head away, refocusing her gaze on the conversation.

Tori was trembling, shaking like a volcano ready to explode. Cat was still doing her best to ignore the situation, which left Robbie and Andre stupidly adding fuel to the fire.

"What's the problem?" Andre asked with a nervous chuckle. He ran his hand behind his head and cleared his throat. "I mean, you never had any issue before. Your family's crazy, you say it all the time." Tori rolled her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I believe it all the time."

"Well it's true, isn't it? Your dad's a negligent asshole, your mom's having an affair and your sister's an attention whore." Jade's eyes widened and almost instantly, Tori's entire body froze. An icy chill swept through the air as the girl's veins started to bulge from her neck and forehead.

Feeling Beck lean in, Jade kept her eyes on Tori while listening to his whisper. "Her dad's a homicide detective always on call. The situation with Detective Malone and Mrs. Vega's a little complicated, but I'm almost certain that's _not_ an affair, and I think it's time to leave."

"Did you just call my sister a _whore_?" Andre chuckled nervously and raised his hands up.

"No! Not like that, I mean, she's-"

"I'm done." Tori stood slowly, her nostrils flaring. Her eyes looked ready to kill the next thing that moved, or in this case, spoke. "I've been told countless times." Tori breathed heavily, her chest heaving and her fists clenched so tight that they might start bleeding. "But I've always come to your defense; hell Trina hates you guys and _she_ comes to your defense!"

"What?"

"But they're right. You're not friends. You don't care about me, you don't care about my family." Andre started to pale and stumble over his words as Tori extended her arm to the door. "Get out. Get the fuck out of my house."

Somehow, she was remaining perfectly calm, and that scared Jade. She knew anger well enough to understand the difference between calmness and shouting; and shouting was the one that she preferred. A calm anger was the worst kind of anger.

"We're your friends." Robbie stood up and furrowed his brow, but grimaced when Tori's icy glare moved onto him. "I-I mean we care about you." He chuckled nervously and shrugged. "I mean maybe we think your family's a bit crazy and stuff, but we care." Beck slapped his forehead and Jade dropped her head.

"No. No you don't care about me. You don't respect my family, you never say anything good about them and you treat them like shit." Tori moved her hand to her chest and leaned forward. "Do you think I don't know what you guys do? Do you think I don't see it?" Tori snapped her finger to Beck. "Don't think I don't know about that puppet game you guys did when you _lied to my father while alone with my sister!"_

Beck lowered his hand and Jade opened her mouth, but only stunned air entered. She hadn't known much about that evening; only that Beck took Andre and Robbie to get Trina to stop telling people that he was into her.

"You lied to her dad?" Her whisper was hurried and rushed. "Why would you have to lie to him? What were you guys doing to Trina?"

"Nothing I'm proud of," he answered, "At the time sure. Things were getting a little intense, I mean we even had to pull her out of the made up fray for a bit."

"You put your hands on her? I mean seriously, I get it, but you actually physically touched her? Alone in the house, three men, what if she said-"

"I know, I know, Mr. Vega confronted us about it when he looked on the camera." Jade glanced at the ceiling, noticing a small and round lens in the corner of the room. She'd never noticed it before, and was horrified to think of all the things that could have been captured on it. "We only lied to him because we didn't want him to know what we were doing-which yes, already sounds bad. He said he was horrified that we lied to him and said if we ever touched his daughter again-"

"I want you guys out," Tori's shouted at the top of her lungs. It ripped Beck and Jade from their conversation, refocusing their attention on the group. Andre and Cat were standing up now, and Cat appeared halfway to the door. "And don't think you're so innocent, Robbie." Tori's breath was almost as poisonous as the venom in her eyes. "My stepdad continued to investigate that stage incident, the school has cameras too you know."

Robbie swallowed heavily and his eyes grew large. "W-What?" Jade pursed her lips and Beck rose from the couch with a loud grunt. "You have a stepdad?"

"Yeah. Mom and dad got divorced a couple years ago, she just stays with us when Gary gets called away. He's in the military too."

"I didn't know that."

"You'd know that and more if you actually cared, but whenever we're all together, you guys only want to talk about yourself or about Hollywood Arts." Tori threw her hands up. "Any talk about me usually ends up with my family being routinely insulted!"

"You're not so innocent," Cat remarked. The redhead spun around and pointed at Tori. "You say a lot of shit about them too, so the guys only think it's normal." Jade moved her fingertips to her forehead and groaned while Beck tried to usher Andre and Robbie towards the door.

Tori's voice rose more, saliva dripping from her lips. "Forgive me for not having a fucking backbone then, thinking the only way to please you guys was to laugh and join in whenever you guys made fun of my family. I wanted friends and thought if I defended my sister or parents to you, that you'd just up and abandon me!"

"Is that how you think about us, Tori? Seriously!" Cat's voice began to rise to match Tori's. Jade jumped from the couch and began moving for Cat, not wanting the girl to make the situation worse. "What kind of friends do you think we are?"

"Self-centered assholes that don't care about anybody but yourselves. I mean, come on, you attack anyone that doesn't think the same way you do." Tori stepped forward, snapping her fingers and jerking her arm outwards. "Just the other day you guys laughed at Sinjin for saying he didn't want to go into some kind of art or drama thing. It's like the rest of Hollywood Arts, just like Trina says, everyone there only cares about acting and singing, and thinks they're better than everyone that _doesn't_."

"We're not like that."

"Oh yeah? I sure don't know that. My family doesn't think so either. What if I wanted to go into some science field?" Cat furrowed her brow and Andre shook his head.

"Why would you want to do that?" Andre inquired. Jade closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath. "I mean, you'd probably stand more of a chance of getting something in the arts field."

"That's exactly my point. It's my decision, not yours."

"Tori, just tell us what's going on!"

"What's going on?" Tori put her hands to her hips and followed Beck and Jade as they rushed to guide their friends towards the front door. "What's going on is my entire family doesn't believe you guys give a shit about me or about my family. What's going on is I think they're right."

"They're wrong."

"Yeah, well I guess you'd have to prove that to me." Once everyone was out the door, Jade turned around to see Tori appearing to tower above them in the doorway. Her hand gripped the front door firmly and her expression was tense with rage. "You just insulted my sister _and_ her boyfriend a few minutes ago for that matter. If you can't respect my sister, can't respect my parents, then you can't respect me. If you say you care about me or my family, then fucking prove it…and until you can prove it, stay the hell out of our house!"

Without a further word, Tori slammed the door. Jade felt a rush of wind roll over her, practically pushing her to the ground. She exhaled sharply and her entire body started to relax to the point she felt ready to collapse.

"Okay," she said with a breathy tone, "Let's give her some time to cool off." She turned to the others, shaking her head at them. She was disappointed and numb, unsure how to process everything that just happened. "We should probably talk about what just happened here…"

"It's not true," Andre muttered, "What she said. We care. It's just…" He ran his hand over his neck and turned to the side. "What the hell happened in there? Does she hate us?"

"I don't think that's it, but I think we need to show her that we care about what she wants. Her family too." She crossed her arms and bowed her head. As she considered the things Tori said, she realized that her parents-and possibly even Trina-may have had something to do with everything.

Then there was what Tori said about liking science, and how they didn't know everything about her. "She's afraid we won't accept her, it seems. If there's things she hasn't told us out of fear of that, then maybe there is something in how we're acting around her that's making her feel that way."

"How can we show her if she doesn't give us a chance?"

"Don't worry. I'll talk to her and see what's going on…" She smiled politely and the others nodded. Each of them looked dejected and worried, fearful of losing a good friend.

The next day Jade drove to the Vega home, ready to talk to Tori about what happened and hoped that she calmed down. Her heart was racing and her mind filled with doubts. There was no guarantee Tori would even want to talk, much less talk to her; but she had to try.

"Okay. Keep calm and don't get defensive." She parked alongside the curb and blew out several breaths of air. "Exercise patience, calmness and understanding. Don't make accusations, don't make fun of anyone or make generalizations."

As of late, she'd been trying to have a better relationship with her father. He got her to seek out counseling, and she found the therapy to be both helpful and amazing.

Jade opened the door and stepped outside. She looked to the house and furrowed her brow at the wide-open front door. "What the…" She closed the car door gently and walked around the hood, sliding her fingertips along the sleek black car.

The driveway and garage had the family's three vehicles parked in place; Holly's SUV, David's truck, and the sisters' red convertible.

Approaching the house, Jade heard noise coming from the television and assumed the family was airing out their house. The air was crisp and warm, so it wasn't a farfetched assumption.

"Hey guys?" She knocked first no the door frame before taking a step in the house. When she looked in, she saw that it was empty. Much more than that, nothing looked right, and it was a sight that took her breath.

Seeing the overturned kitchen and coffee table paralyzed her body, and seeing holes in the couch brought a heavy sensation in her chest. She looked down to her foot and carefully pulled it away, fearing that she might be stumbling upon a crime scene.

"It can't be." She ignored her judgement and returned her foot to the floor; but carefully. With each trembling step, she examined the area with her eyes.

The carpet was torn in multiple places, different sized holes looked to be punched in the walls. Family portraits were either crooked or had fallen to the ground. "Hello? Is anyone home?" She waited with baited breath, but her only answer came from the eerie laugh track on the television.

Clear as it was to her, a fight had taken place. "Tori? Trina? Mr. and Ms. Vega?" David's study room was open. Jade pushed her hands into her pockets and stepped in. Her eyes travelled to the desk and froze on a pool of reddish liquid. "Oh shit. No, no, no…"

Realizing quickly what it was, Jade gasped out and ran from the study, screaming for the family at the top of her lungs. She bolted up the stairs, only to find the rooms devoid of life.

Hurrying back, Jade noticed the busted piano and then the broken glass door leading into the backyard.

Whatever happened, the family was gone. The first thing she did was call the police, knowing she'd have to wait for them to show up so she could give a statement. The next thing she had to do was going to be harder; calling the friends and letting them know the horror she'd just stumbled onto.

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Here we are at the beginning. There's some adventure to be found in the mystery; the friends are going to need some help but let's see how what they can do. What's to come, and who might be responsible for this? Also, we'll have to see what led to Tori's sudden outburst. There's a lot going on within the Vega family, a lot that there is to discover. Did the family have a chance to fight off their attackers? It looks like they could have, and what does the blood found in David's study suggest? Who could have something against the family? So many questions, with answers to come.


	2. The Scene of the Crime

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: So, I decided to go ahead and put this chapter out with chapter 1 to give you a greater feel for the atmosphere of this tale. So you know ahead of time what you're getting into, it's not going to be light and cheery (though I think that was already a given), but here's the overall tone. Enjoy.

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Chapter 2 (The Scene of the Crime)

Blood was found throughout the house, and as someone that grew up in a police family, Beck was already taking photographs of everything. Being a year older than the others, Beck had joined the police force when he turned eighteen and spent a year going through academy.

Jade found this fact incredibly attractive, because he wound up also taking an extra year at Hollywood Arts mainly because he was working for Mr. Sikowitz. Sikowitz had a second, but primary job as a private investigator and had taken Beck under his wing as something of an apprentice.

That said, he allowed Beck to take part in his lectures and classes so that he could be with his friends. Of course that wouldn't last much longer since not only was everyone graduating, but Sikowitz was devoting more time to his primary work and would be leaving his teaching job within a year.

"I really shouldn't even be doing all this," Beck muttered as Jade walked up behind him. He was holding the camera at chest level, sighing at a bloody hand print on the wall behind the piano. "But the police haven't arrived yet, which I'm not sure why. Usually calls like this, especially involving a cop's family, would have all units racing to the scene."

"Yeah…" Jade tugged on the edge of her gloves and looked over her shoulder with a trembling sigh. She wasn't supposed to be there, contaminating the scene, but she wanted to help Beck for a bit before the others showed up. "What do you think happened?"

"What do I think?" Beck lowered the camera and looked at the broken piano. "Someone got into a fight, someone either got thrown into the piano or thrown over it and they touched the wall." She rolled her eyes and smiled sadly.

"No, I don't mean that. I mean…I mean what do you think happened to the Vegas?"

"If I knew, there'd be no reason for an investigation." His bluntness was irritating as hell at times, but she'd learned usually to let it slide. At this moment, however, it was grating at her nerves more than usual. Beck caught her expression and sighed. "The police will figure it out, Jade. I'm sure of it." He put his hand to her shoulder and tried to reassure her with a smile of his own; but the smile looked forced and there were notes of pain and fear in his eyes. "The Vegas will be okay, they have to be."

Jade folded her forearms over her clenched stomach and bowed her head, grimacing. "What are we going to do?" She leaned backwards against Beck as he slid a careful arm around her waist.

"We have to trust that they'll be okay. We have to trust that the police are going to do their job and find them."

"What if they don't? What if something terrible happened and the family's already dead?" Tears welled up in her eyes as the memory of the night before played in her head. "I-I can't think the last time we talked to Tori ended the way it did. I don't want it to be like that, Beck."

Beck kissed the tip of her head and a gentle sigh rolled from his lips and breezed through her hair. "Come on, let's go outside. We shouldn't be in here right now…"

"I know we need to preserve the scene-"

"That's not what I mean." His soft voice was oddly soothing, aiding to relax the flurry of emotions beating around inside her. " _You_ don't need to be in here, seeing the Vegas' home like this…"

She nodded and let him guide her outside. "How could things get so bad?" She raised her hand to her forehead and shook her head, groaning softly. "Last night was just a misunderstanding, I know it was. Why would Tori even think-" She let out a stuttering gasp and raised her head. "No, that isn't important right now."

Hearing the sound of an engine, Jade looked to her left with hope that the police were finally arriving on the scene. When she saw Robbie's rusted, navy blue Chevy sedan, her heart sank.

He parked behind her car and hurried out of the door, with Andre climbing out of the side. "Where are the cops?" Andre asked. His voice didn't betray the panic in his eyes, his hands were trembling and sweat was pouring down his face. "Guys? What's going on?"

Robbie started to run past them, but Beck grabbed him from behind and yanked him back. "You can't go in there," Beck announced. Robbie whimpered and started to fall to his knees, his trembling hands raising to remove his glasses and cover his puffy red eyes. "I'm sorry guys, but until the police arrive, I can't let any of you go in. Even then…"

Jade's throat tightened and she looked down the road. "Where is Cat? I called her too." Robbie wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sighed.

"She'll be here, she's grieving at her apartment right now. I think Sam's consoling her." She wasn't sure Cat would be okay, especially not if she came here right now. "Andre's right, where are the police? Beck's not a full-fledged officer yet, just a private investigator's assistant, right?"

"Apprentice," Beck corrected sternly. He crossed his arms and peered down his nose at the road. "I don't understand it either, the police were called half an hour ago." Frustration shook in his voice, eradicating the former calm that had been there. "Normally they'd be here by now, especially since it's a cop's family." He slapped the air with his hand and growled beneath his words. "This would be a high profile case, for fuck's sake."

"You're telling me," someone replied. Beck flinched and Jade turned to see Cat walking with a blonde haired woman. The woman wore a pair of shades and walked with an aura of confidence. Beck straightened his posture instantly and cleared his throat. "What's up assistant?"

"Apprentice…" His lips curled into a smirk and his brow furrowed. "Rookie."

Sam Puckett, twenty-two years of age, recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Like Beck, she was just getting a start in law enforcement; but she was officially working with a police department rather than a private investigator.

Jade rarely met her, but Beck had plenty of occasions. They seemed to be competitive, if not a tad friendly. Jade didn't mind the friendly terms since Sam had her eyes on a man elsewhere.

"I've been trying to get ahold of my department to find out what's going on, but they won't talk to me." Sam put her hands to her hips and sighed as she turned her head towards her grieving roommate. "Meanwhile, I'm trying to take care of Cat. She can't even talk…"

Cat was visibly shaken, her eyes devoid of emotion or tears. Yet her eyes were just as puffy and red as the rest of her face, which was stained by tears and mascara.

Sam closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath of air. "She's been like this since last night even." Jade frowned and the others began averting eye contact. They knew the statement translated into Cat having told Sam about the fight. "I can't say I'm not surprised it happened, but I'm sorry it did. Maybe that will remind you guys to pay more attention to taking care of your friendships in the future…"

Beck nodded, giving the others a disappointed look. "Let's just try and get the police out here." Sam pointed at the camera in his hands and cleared her throat.

"By the way Beck, you need to go through the proper channels. This isn't your crime scene to investigate. Not mine either."

All of a sudden a new and greater sound filled the air. Sam twisted around partially and Jade raised her head to see a large, silver Nissan Frontier pulling up. It had four doors and tinted glass.

Jade held her breath as the truck's engine silenced and the car's door opened. To the surprise of the group, a tall, uniformed marine slowly exited the vehicle. He had thick brown hair, neatly trimmed, and a formidable build. "What's going on here?" He asked in a barking voice.

Jade walked forward, leaving the others to stand in silence, gawking at the marine with one foot raised and bent on the metal step under the truck's door. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the man; it was Mr. Sikowitz's nephew, Jason, who Cat tried to go out with a few years back.

"Oh my god. You're Jason, Sikowitz's nephew." She stopped and looked over her shoulders as the group gazed on with widening eyes. Shaking her head, she looked back to see his brow furrowing and intensifying expression. "I uh, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Trina." He stepped away from the door and walked around his truck. He didn't look pleased to see them, but hearing Trina's name told Jade all the information she needed. With a stammer, she couldn't form the right words-but what does one say to a man like this?

Judging by the way he was staring at the group, he knew who they were and didn't appear to like them. If he was dating Trina, then the reason for that was fairly obvious.

"Jason, sir, I don't know how to say this…" She looked to the house and started to tremble. "Trina-her family-they're not here." Jason's eyebrows rose and his flat-lined lips turned into a frown. "We don't know where they are."

"What do you mean?" He looked at the house and started to approach. She raised her hand, wanting to stop him, but didn't move as part of her was afraid to go near the house again.

"You really shouldn't."

He stopped in front of the doorway and turned white as a ghost when peering inside. Soon this mountain of a man started to tremble. "What happened?" His voice rose fearfully and he leaned in, calling Trina's name and calling for her family. It was only a few seconds before he hurried inside, only to return looking frantic and grave. "No…No…Where are the police?"

"We're waiting on them." Sam popped some gum and took another step forward. "But if they don't show up, I'm about to secure the location myself. Even if I shouldn't."

It wasn't long before Sikowitz himself showed up-much to Jade's surprise and annoyance. He shambled towards them, looking grim and defeated. He wasn't wearing his typical teaching wardrobe, but a brown blazer and long brown slacks, with a blue dress shirt and solid brown tie.

"I um, I've got some bad news." Sikowitz ran his hand through his hair and slid it down his back. "I've been listening to the police channels. They're being told that the call is 'unimportant' as 'Captain Vega has only taken his family on vacation'."

"What?" Jade raised her voice and took a step forward. "That's bullshit! Why won't the police come? They're supposed to investigate something like this." Sikowitz bore a deep frown and Jade turned to look at the others. They were growing frantic and enraged, concerned that the police were being told to ignore the matter.

Thinking fast, Jade turned to Sam. "Do you know anything about this?" Sam's eyes were wide and she looked to be just as shocked and horrified as the rest. "You said your department hasn't told you anything, right?"

"That's correct."

Sikowitz shut his eyes and Jade's heart started to sink. "I am sorry," the man remarked, "Officers are just now being told there is no investigation in this matter."

"What about Detective Malone?" Jade furrowed her brow, feeling helpless and scared. "Surely he'd investigate."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on there. I haven't heard anything about him through the radio channels. I suggest finding him…" Jade furrowed her brow and Beck raised his head, giving a contemplative hum.

"Sir?" Beck started to smile. "What are you saying just now?" Sikowitz shrugged and swept his hands out from his waist.

"I'm saying that I'm a private investigator. The police don't want to investigate, okay. If _somebody_ were to bring the Vega's disappearance to my attention, per se, I _might_ be able to take that case."

Miles away, in a dark location somewhere deep underground, the Vega family members were seated in what looked to be a prison cell. Holly and Tori leaned sideways against the back wall, facing each other and sobbing frantically while on their knees.

David looked like a bloody corpse leaning against one of the bars of the cell, his left eye was swollen shut and blood gathered above his eyebrow and caked in the corners of his lips. His knuckles were bruised and bloody, and his right hand was gripping firmly his limp left arm.

Trina knelt in the center, looking more battered than her father. Her eyes were fierce and heated, and she was breathing heavily at the figure standing in the shadows on the other side of the cell. "Let me out of here," she hissed, "And fight me one on one, fucking asshole."

She was weak from the fight before, and just as exhausted as her father. Her hair was covered in blood and matted in multiple places, leaving streaks of blood like a paintbrush wherever it touched. Her flaring nostrils had a cut on the right, and her trembling lips oozed with pus.

Her eyes were blackened, her face purple, and her arms and legs were covered in welts.

On the other side of her, a fifth family member lay motionless on the ground. He was still breathing, but just as savagely beaten. The man had been shot, and then operated on by the captors to have the bullet removed: A sign that whoever was holding them was keeping them alive for whatever reason.

What Trina hoped was that they would last long enough to get out, or at least to be rescued; but the fear she dared not show was that rescue would not arrive.

A large and heavy hand reached out, grabbing ahold of the bars in front of her. David huffed and puffed as he struggled to turn himself towards the captor. "Don't…" His chest bounced as he coughed. "Don't fucking touch my daughter."

"Not a lot you can do," the captor replied. The man's face came into view; it was just the guard. His smirk sickened Trina and enraged her all the more. "Our leader would love to have you out of that cell, bitch." She roared and scurried forward, grabbing the bars tightly and pulling herself up to the guard's eye level.

"Say that to my face, asshole."

Tori cried out and extended her arm. "Trina, don't!" The guard's smirk grew and he mocked her with a laugh.

"Listen to your sister, whore."

Trina sneered back, her body growing hot with anger. She built up the saliva in the back of her throat and spit at the guard. The man instantly reeled back while her family gasped in shock.

"You cunt." The guard hurried away and Trina crossed her arms, and turned her back, proud of herself. David began to shake and cough while Holly stared in horror past her.

Soon a metallic noise erupted and Trina spun around to see the guard had returned. He opened the cell door and grabbed a fistful of her hair before she could react. "Teach you some respect." Tori screamed while David tried in vain to move.

Her muscles were too strained to fight and the guard yanked her back with greater force than she could defend against at that moment.

He threw her to the ground, causing her head to strike the steel floor. She rolled her eyes back and groaned. "Please no!" Tori extended her hands, bawling as the guard's shadow fell over Trina's body.

She felt her body jump as the guard slammed his foot into her side. Another strike forced her to roll into the nearby wall. "What's that? Guard dog's all bark but no bite?" Trina slid her eyes to the side, looking into the guard's murderous gaze as he leaned over her. "Too bad I can't kill your bitch ass right now, you're worthless. I don't get why you're even alive."

A guttural groan left her trembling lips and she moved her eyes away. "Don't. Care." It was painful to speak, and far more painful to move. She was used to hearing insults hurtled her way, so he could talk all he wanted.

His fist came crashing down against her jaw, the sound of his punch echoed off the walls. Her head throbbed and the headache she already had seemed only to grow worse.

"Spit on me again, bitch. Spit on me again!"

Just then a voice came over what sounded like an intercom. Trina's body went cold and her eyes grew wide when she heard the speaker. "No…" Her heartbeat started to race and nausea swirled like a storm in her stomach. If she had the strength to scream, to run, she would do so.

"That's enough," the speaker said. His voice bore a note of rage, yet there was a calmness to him as well. "I'm not paying you to beat them senseless. You're supposed to just watch them, make sure they don't get out of their cell."

Trina grabbed at the ground, trying to feel for any cracks that she could use to pull herself away; but it was all solid flooring. Tears welled up in her eyes as the guard reached down and grabbed her by the hair.

"But boss, the bitch spit in my face."

"I don't give a shit. Anything happens to her prematurely, I'll be sure to do something worse to you. Or did you forget I have cameras everywhere?"

"What's the point of holding them if we can't have a little fun with em?"

"They're not for you to touch." The man put emphasis in his voice, which came across a stern warning. Trina whimpered as his words filled her ears like poison. Mucous and blood drained from her nose as she struggled to breathe.

The guard cursed and flung her onto her back, forcing her a jolt of pain throughout her body. He started muttering while dragging her towards the cell. "Stupid bitch. Boss's favorite, I'll bet. Probably wants you to himself."

Trina withheld the urge to scream, her eyes filling with terror and her heart collapsing from the anguish.

The guard yanked open the door and pushed her inside. As she lay sprawled out on the ground, Tori and Holly rushed over to her, taking her in their arms. David, once more, tried in vain to move and could only shake and cough.

* * *

There you go. You have an idea of some of those that will be looking, the police have already been told to ignore the matter altogether. I wonder why? Why do you suppose that is, and why has Detective Malone fallen silent? What do you think? Is he involved? Could he be the fifth family member locked up in that cell? Who is this boss? Could he be someone from the family's past?' Judging by Trina's reaction, what do you think? Could there be history, or could she just simply have become hit by a bout of fear in that instant? Stick around...It may be a couple days before the next update, since I just got a new job and all that. Give me your thoughts on the chapter and on the questions, as well as thoughts about the future. Hope to hear from you

IMPORTANT FYI: Just so you know, we're not going to see the family being constantly tortured or anything whenever they appear, because I don't think that's necessary for the reader (Though you see a bit of that in this chapter because it is important this time...we also get the first glimpse of our antagonist). If we see the family in the future, it's probably going to be for important moments or milestone moments. Whether or not those moments are escape attempts, trying to console one another, or well anything. So just to be clear, this is not a torture thing nor is it going to be...


	3. The Weary PI

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Happy V-day, or for me, COFFEE day. As I sit here enjoying a fascinating "mocha amore" at my favorite coffee shop, I bring you chapter 3 of this tale. Do enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 3 (The Weary P.I.)

Jade and Beck stood before Mr. Sikowitz's desk at his downtown office, pleading with him to let them go ahead and look into the Vega case since it seemed someone was telling the police not to investigate.

Their friends were standing behind them, wary and quiet; it was better that they speak little at the moment. Convincing Sikowitz to do this was not an easy task to accomplish. "Mr. Sikowitz, if the police aren't investigating this, _somebody_ has to look into it." Jade held her hands together and tried to bat her eyelashes, as though she could win him over for being a favorite. "I don't trust anyone else on this matter."

"Listen Miss West…" Sikowitz leaned back slowly, clasping his hands together on top of his desk. He took a slow and deep breath, his eyebrows furrowing. "You're an eighteen year old girl who just graduated a high school that got lucky enough to get accredited. You have no law enforcement experience, no criminal justice background. The training you'd have to go through just to _see_ a crime scene…"

"I know, but come on." She leaned forward, pushing her hands on his desk and curling her fingertips inward. She looked into his eyes, searching them for any sign of weakness. "Why would it not be legitimate? It'd be better than the alternative." He raised an eyebrow and grunted in reply. "Which you know I would do."

His head rolled to the left, his gaze full of skepticism. "What, pray tell, is this 'alternative'?" A devious smirk formed on her face and a smug feeling overcame her. As she told Beck, she'd pursue the Vega clan with or without help from any form of law enforcement if she needed to.

Beck raised his hand to his forehead, sighing heavily. "She intends to search for the Vegas no matter what. So, even if you tell her she can't aid your investigation on the matter, she'll form her own investigation." Sikowitz chuckled and raised his hands, tapping his fingertips together before his face.

"Is that so? How would you gather evidence that has already been gathered and sampled?" She shrugged. She would find her own way of dealing with evidence; if he already gathered the evidence, she could simply go into his files.

"I'd have to check your files." She pushed her tongue against her cheek and wagged her eyebrows. "What do you think about that?" Hearing Beck sigh was tad discouraging, especially since she hoped he'd be on her side; but didn't blame him for not wanting to piss his boss off. Teacher or not.

"I think that is confidential information for which I would be liable; it is not only illegal for you to break in and do such a thing, but for me to allow you to do so as a private citizen."

"So hire me." Jade shrugged. "When have has 'illegal' ever stopped me?"

"Fewer times than it should have, evidently." Jade chuckled nervously and Sikowitz glanced to the right. "Regardless of circumstance, _I_ am now in charge of investigating this kidnapping. I already have an assistant." Beck's jaw dropped open and he raised his eyebrows, sweeping his hands outwards in frustration. "I'm also having to investigate just _why_ the police are being swayed away from the investigation…there may be a connection."

"Has to be," Beck replied. Jade looked between the two men, confused but slightly understanding how they could reach such a consensus. "I mean think about it. This would be such a high-profile case that unless they were ordered under some sort of strict sanction not to investigate, they'd be all over this."

"Exactly. There's got to be a number of hands already on this. Even as we investigate, we'll have to move carefully. There's no telling who'll be watching." She grinned at his statement, taking it to mean he was coming around to the idea of her investigating for him. He studied her for a minute, arching his eyebrow.

With a sigh, he set his hand on the desk and began tapping his finger. "You're asking me to essentially hire on four new apprentices."

A squeaking noise rang behind them, causing Jade and Beck to twist around while Sikowitz stared between them at Cat. "Maybe just three." Her speaking for the first time was shocking, but Jade was happy to hear the girl's voice again. "I-I'm scared. To be honest, I just want to know they're okay, but I don't think I could handle actual investigating."

"I would be doing most of that work." Sikowitz took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "As apprentices, you would be seeing the evidence I collected and assisting me with certain preparations of documents."

"Glorified office assistants?" Jade wrinkled her nose and Sikowitz raised his shoulders up.

"With a little bit of field work."

"It's better than nothing, I supposes." She didn't want to be a pencil pusher, but helping with paperwork was the only way she could help find the Vegas, then she knew better than to turn it down. "I'd say it's great if it means we get to help."

"This is dangerous work."

"I know, but something's got to be done. I mean hell, the police are ignoring this!"

"The police are listening to someone high up, I have a good feeling about that." Sikowitz raised a hand up, pointing his finger outwards. "Fortunately we have someone inside to let us know what's going on."

Sam was their best help in discovering whatever secrets may be afoot. If someone high up was blocking police investigations, Sam would find out. "Okay. So what is your answer?" Sikowitz ran his hand across his forehead with a husky, defeated sigh. "Will you hire us? I mean hell, I'll bet even Cat can be a receptionist for you to answer phone calls and set appointments!"

"You act like I run a large business." He reclined in his leather seat and propped his heels up on the corner of the desk. His hands moved behind his head and he started to chuckle. "Up until now, I've mostly been a teacher. My PI investigations business has been small and somewhat unknown, I only started it so I could follow an old passion of mine…"

"Well your business could grow." Beck shrugged and crossed his arms. Sikowitz hummed softly and looked to Beck with a contemplative stare. "If you have more employees, and you help solve something like this when it won't be touched by the police…you increase your name recognition."

"Or I'm killed by whoever's able to command the police to ignore the matter." Sikowitz shut his eyes and started groaning. "It makes me sick to my stomach to think of just who that could be…" Jade's lips pursed and the others waited as he opened his eyes halfway and slowly shook his head. "The only person I can think of is either the chief of police or the assistant chief. If one of them put the order out to the police…"

Her blood ran cold and a gnawing fear started within her; it was mind boggling to think of anyone that high up ordering the police to ignore a mass kidnapping of a respected homicide detective. "Why would one of them even do that?"

"I don't know. That's something that would need to be figured out." He pulled his heels off the desk and narrowed his eyes. "If that's true, this just got ten times worse and that much more dangerous." He waved his hand in the air and started to growl. "I can't risk putting your lives in danger like that."

Andre spoke up this time, startling everyone. His hands were balled up and his voice filled with a sense of urgency. "I don't think you understand sir, we don't care how dangerous, we just want to do something." Sikowitz grunted and shook his head.

"If what I fear were true, a low rung private investigator…I'd need evidence, I'd need proof. I'd need to write to the congressmen, to the FBI, to whoever would listen."

Next up was Robbie. He cleared his throat and coughed into his hand, as if the action itself would capture the attention of the others. "My uh…" He looked meek and uncertain, so as he fumbled for his words the others waited impatiently to listen to him. "My older brother might possibly help if he had proof…"

Sikowitz leaned forward, his sharp gaze increasing as he folded his fingers beneath his nose. "Your brother?"

"Yes sir. My older brother. Rex." Jade scoffed, thinking of the puppet he used to own and how his assumption of it was inappropriate. Sikowitz smirked, clearly assuming the same. Before either of them could speak, Beck gave an affirmative nod and interjected his opinion.

"Dude, neither Andre and I have seen the guy since we were kids, right? How is he?" Andre grinned and Robbie smiled politely.

"He doesn't say much about his job or anything, but he's doing well. He travels a lot." Robbie ran his hand over the back of his neck and breathed in deep.

"Rex gave him the puppet," Andre remarked, "When he went off to college. Robbie was so attached to the guy that Rex ordered a custom puppet to be made for him. I think it's been close to ten years ago, hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Robbie nodded fervently. Jade was in awe of the news; if ten years had passed, that would put Rex at either twenty-eight or thirty years of age. "He works is in the CIA."

Sikowitz straightened his posture and shook his head. "No. I don't want to involve the CIA unless it comes to that." Robbie frowned and Jade looked to her teacher with a curious gaze. "I mean to say, the minute we involve the government…I better have the fucking proof to back up my claims. Even if this is your brother, I highly doubt he'd just involve himself without proper cause or proof that the CIA needs to be involved."

"I-I understand. Just, keep him in mind?"

"I will. No worries there, Mr. Shapiro."

"Thank you."

Jade was right there with Sikowitz in hoping it wasn't the Chief of Police or someone that high up that was leashing the police; because if it was, who else was there to turn to on the chain of command beyond the Government?

There was no choice but to wait and see if Sam could come through and tell them who it was that was leashing the police. The who wouldn't be enough for the government, and that's what Sikowitz was getting at. After all, the government didn't give a shit if someone like the police chief didn't want their departments to investigate something.

"We'll have to find the who, what, where, when and how. Right?"

"Right." Sikowitz ran his hand over his face and began to tremble. "Jesus, this, this is all kinds of fucked up." He growled and dropped his hand. "Hell, I never even thought I'd have to be in this position. My own nephew refuses to not take part in this, and now my former students, while investigating the disappearance of one of my former students…god."

"Let us help, Mr. Sikowitz. Please."

"I have little choice." Sikowitz raised his eyes up to the others and sighed. "Cat?" The redhead squeaked and appeared to shrink as everyone turned their gazes onto him. "Will you be okay with working the desk? Taking phone calls and making appointments when I'm not in the office?"

Cat nodded fervently. Sikowitz motioned to Jade. "How about you Jade? If You're willing, you can be Beck's second." She furrowed her brow and nodded, eager and willing to take anything she could. "Okay great. Robbie?" Robbie straightened himself, standing at attention. "I'll need someone to document, draft transcripts and file stuff away."

"I can do this."

"Okay."

Andre took a step forward. "Sir, please let me in the field." Sikowitz curled a finger over his upper lip. "Let me work alongside Beck and Jade. I owe that much to the Vegas…" The elder took a few minutes before adjusting himself in his chair.

"Fine. I'll let you investigate as well." The man rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. "There isn't the time to properly train all of you on how to do these different jobs, but I need to train you on everything. Jade, Andre, the two of you need more training than Robbie and Cat will since they won't have to go into the field as often…hopefully not at all…but still there's a process that can't be ignored."

"We'll do whatever it takes, sir."

"Okay. Good. You're hired then." Sikowitz closed his eyes and muttered under his breath. "God help us, what am I doing? God help us all." Sikowitz's desktop phone began to ring. He curled his hand against his left temple, placed his elbow on the armrest and sighed. His eyes moved to the ringing landline and travelled to Cat. "Well. Miss Valentine?"

Cat tensed up and raised her eyebrows. "Y-Yes sir?"

"This is Investigator Sikowitz's office, how may I assist you?"

Cat nodded and hurried to the desk, grabbing up the phone and repeating the line. Sikowitz tapped the speakerphone button and everyone listened as Sam's voice filled the room. "I just got back from checking out Detective Malone's residence."

"Did you find him?"

"No."

Sikowitz lowered his hand and grumbled. "Where is he located, Officer Puckett?" Jade held her breath, hoping and praying Gary could be found; however the sinking feeling in her gut told her he would be gone as well.

"His location is unknown, and it appears he left the place in a hurry. It should be noted that his car is missing, however a vehicle matching the description of his car was found near the Vega home…"

Jade remembered seeing a stray car parked across the street from the Vega house and cringed; it was a red Ford F-150 that she'd never seen across the street before. "Crap, he was at the Vega house too. They must have called him or something."

"Or he's involved. We don't know anything yet."

"Right."

Sikowitz took deep breath and shook his head from side to side. "So. Detective Malone is missing along with the Vega family." With an exhale, his entire body seemed to slump forward. "God help us."

* * *

So Sikowitz is semi new to the P.I. game and starting up his own business; and then he gets lumped with all this. Kinda feel bad for the guy. Hopefully they can get some connections that will be of help, Robbie might have given a good option just there. What are your thoughts? This isn't something it looks like they can do on their own, especially not if the ones they think might be involved are. What input and feedback have you?


	4. Hope

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 4 (Hope and Determination)

"When are we going to talk about the other night?" Robbie inquired. The group was sitting around a picnic table at the park near the Vega house. Each person was solemn and quiet. Jade wasn't wanting to think about the fight, but she agreed it was best not to ignore the event.

They needed to assess everything anyhow and figure out where they stood. "It was pretty bad." She folded her hands inwards along her thighs and leaned back. Her eyes traveled past the group and focused on a pair of ducks in the distance walking towards the lake. "I saw her getting upset and should have said something, but I…I didn't know what to say or how to diffuse it."

"I don't think any of us meant to make her that angry." Robbie crossed his arms and turned his head. Jade smiled sadly, watching the smaller duck rub its back with its bill. "Then we had to be dicks when she mentioned Trina's boyfriend. How could we be that stupid? That ignorant?"

"There's nothing we're not used to," Andre replied. He shrugged and his eyebrows closed towards the center. "I just wish she would have told us why she insulted her family just as much…"

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Cat twist her head away. The girl's red hair slid up and over her shoulder and her expression grew soft and somber. "She did. She said she just wanted to be accepted, like she was afraid defending her family would make us dislike her."

"Did she think we were that vain? I mean, come on…"

"Yes." A gruff voice approached from behind, making Jade twist around. Jason was walking towards them, wearing a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. His eyes were sharp and his lips were turned to a deep frown. "Trina told me a good deal about all of you." His arms were crossed and his muscles tense,.

Jade wanted to be careful not to antagonize him, especially given how connected he was to the Vega family. She tried to smile, mustering the best polite smile she could. "Hey Jason. I remember you from that sleepover a few years back."

Jason didn't smile back, his eyes were dim and full of mourning. "I remember you guys too." He glanced at Cat, his muscles relaxing for a second as the girl looked up at him. "I remember you too. I never got to thank you." Cat spun her hair around her finger and giggled lightly.

Jade blinked in the confusion and the guys stared at Cat. "I introduced him to Trina." Cat shrugged as if it were nothing. Jade dropped her jaw and leaned back, shaking her head in shock. "I mean I thought he was hot, that's why I latched on…but we had nothing in common. He was into martial arts and military, I really wasn't; but I had actually seen Trina practicing MMA before and thought I'd introduce them."

Glancing over, Jade saw the Marine crack a smile finally. Impressed and proud, she smiled and leaned upright. "Well, looks like it was good. I mean Jason, how long have you and Trina been together?"

"We were friendly for about a year, sparring together and taking some martial arts classes." Jason uncrossed his arms and took a seat on the bench of a table close to them. He leaned his back against the edge and propped his elbows on the top. "We started dating after about a year and have been together ever since. She actually asked Tori not to mention me to you guys because she didn't want any drama over it."

"She thought there'd be drama?"

"She talked enough about you guys, it seemed clear to me why she suspected drama." He closed his eyes and exhaled. "She wasn't fond of you, and I don't blame her after all that I've heard." The others shifted nervously and Jason's gaze dropped for a moment. "I know the things that you've said about her, I know the things you've done. I can't say honestly that my opinion of you is great, and right now I most certainly do not trust any of you."

"Give us a chance first."

Jason raised his gaze and huffed. "Like you gave her one?" Jade winced, but she understood where he was coming from. He was in the right for the bitterness in his voice and animosity in his statement. "It's enough you're working to try and find her family, however, so I'll commend you on that."

"Jason, we…" She bit her lip and linked her index fingers together. "We don't want to come across vain or problematic." Jason pat his knee and studied her for a moment, she could feel his gaze burning through her.

"Right." He leaned his head back slowly and Jade noticed for the first time the exhaustion in him. His eyes were red and raw, he was incredibly tense, and it looked as though he'd not slept in days. "You know, there's a song my grandfather listened to a few times, a verse in it if I recall right…" He took a deep breath. "She wasn't always the way she is now, she had to make mistakes like everyone else; so don't go pointing fingers because it's plain to see you're no saint yourself."

"Ah." Beck nodded and the left corner of his lip twitched upwards. "'She's my Rock', by George Jones. I've heard that song before, an old one but a good one. My dad's favorite artist. I guess to you, that song would say all you need to say about Trina…you love her, and that's all that matters."

Jade looked at Beck, her heart swelling as tears started to form under her eyelids. Jason nodded gently. "I'll always love her. No matter what, I will always be there for her." He leaned forward, sweeping his trembling hand through his hair and releasing a broken sigh. "I should have come home early. I should have been there for her…I have to find her."

"Maybe it's for the best." Jason snapped his glare to Beck, raising an eyebrow slowly. "Think about it, what if you were there and taken with them? What if you'd been killed? You're here, you can help her best by finding her. I mean look at Tori, she may have saved all of us without knowing it. Hell."

"Maybe…"

Jade leaned away, her eyes growing large as Beck's words hit her. "Shit, that abduction had to have happened not long after we left." Her hand trembled over her heart and the air in her lungs was swept away by the horrific thought that they could have ended up murdered or left for dead.

She remembered what Beck said about the security cameras in the house and wondered if they could have caught something. "B-Beck, didn't you say there were cameras?" Beck nodded and Jason spoke up.

"My uncle's already viewing them. I told him about them since Mr. Vega had those cameras placed for security reasons. He's hoping there will be something." Jason placed his palms together and bent forward. "He asked me to come talk to you guys, told me we need to try and figure out who would have had something against the family. Since we were all close to them, and we're the only ones working this…we should confer with each other…"

"He's not wrong," Beck replied. "I don't know anyone that would want to hurt them, but I know Mr. Vega's profession could have earned him plenty of enemies." David was the best to look at, and since Detective Malone was missing as well, it was likely there was a tie there.

She noticed how much tenser Jason was growing, and the hardened expression that came across his face. At first she didn't know why he would look so troubled, but then she realized that Jason would be the one to know more about the Vegas than they would. "How much about them do we not know?" She asked. Jason looked over to her, furrowing his brow. "I know what Tori said, that she didn't trust us with a lot of personal information…"

"There's a lot in their past. They were afraid to bring up a lot with anyone outside the family. Trina trusted me with some of her own information…things in their past, her past, I can't figure if coming forward with that information would be right or a betrayal to her trust in me."

Cat leaned forward, patting Jason's wrist and waiting for him to make eye contact. "Don't break her trust in you, Jason. Unless you think there's something that may help, don't do it. If there's something that happened that she doesn't want others to know about…"

Startled yet again, Jade's lips parted and her eyes fell onto Cat with suspicion. How much did Cat know that the others didn't, if she knew anything at all? "I am not sure if anyone in Trina's past would be the problem." He pulled away and closed his eyes. His eyelids crinkled with his nose and his forehead. "She, and Tori actually, have had a few bad exes in the past-but I doubt they'd be involved in something like this…"

Robbie hummed and lowered the paper plate he'd been holding, having been eating a slice of pizza. "We should take all consideration, I mean who knows?" Jason looked over and Beck acknowledged with his agreement. "I knew Tori had exes, but Trina?" Jade shot him a look and he started to pale, quickly backpedaling. "I don't mean it like how that came out, I meant only I hadn't heard she dated anyone. I mean, nobody ever talked about people she dated."

"Of course not," Jason remarked with a scornful voice, "Lest you sing her another breakup song." Robbie sank and Jason breathed out slowly. "There were a couple people she dated, a couple Tori dated, but none of them were good people. Jerome Klein, Samuel Ross, Daniel, Stephen, Marcus Grant…they were all train wrecks, in the worst possible way."

When he listed the names, it was Samuel that Jade caught a glimpse of hatred and anger flash through Jason's eyes for. The man tensed more mentioning Ross than he did the others. "What's up with Ross?" Jason averted his gaze and shook his head. "I don't mean to push, and I'm not going to…you're probably right, an abduction this scale doesn't sound like something an ex would do. I mean hell, they even have the means to make the police ignore this-so I doubt it's an ex either."

"Yeah."

"We should probably focus on David's enemies. It could be possible the captors intend to cause him pain by harming his family, so right now it looks like he's the best lead."

Jason sighed and bowed his head. "Maybe." It made since to her anyway. As far as the exes went, she didn't know a thing about them beyond Daniel. Daniel, or Danny, was the guy that Tori dated when she went to Sherwood that cheated on her and then dated Cat-while then using Cat by trying to get back with Tori. "We should still investigate the exes."

"Why?"

"Because who knows if they know anything." He ran his hand down his face and groaned softly. "You guys know Trina doesn't trust easily? She hides who she is because of the people that have hurt her." Jade leaned her head sideways and pursed her lips as Jason exhaled. "Ross and Marcus are just examples of people who have hurt her horrifically. I…I know how beautiful she is inside, she's tough-extremely tough. She's protective of her sister too. I mean Daniel and Stephen…Tori's got her trust issues."

"Okay, so we'll check up on them. What do you know about Jerome?"

Jason leaned back against the table's edge and scoffed. "Jerome was an ass. He used both sisters. He dated them both, before Ross and Danny-who most that _might_ know the girls would consider their first boyfriends. He was a bit older than Trina, which made it worse…led a gang even. When the Vegas found out, it was one hell of a shitstorm."

Jade was floored by the news. If this Jerome led a gang and caused a confrontation with the family, then he definitely needed to be checked out. She would have to remember his name, but then she needed to refocus on David. "Okay, now have you heard of _any_ people that might have vendettas against Mr. Vega?"

"Not really. He's a homicide detective, just about anyone he's put away might want to get back at him." Jason leaned his head back, his eyes zeroed in on Robbie and his frown seemed to intensify. "Robbie, right?" Robbie jumped upright and cleared his throat. "I'm not accusing or anything, but Trina and Tori both spoke of how you stalked them once. What was that about?"

Robbie's eyes rolled and he let out a heavy breath of air. "Yes, yes I did." Jason closed his hands tight and Robbie flinched. "I don't anymore, though! I just…I was stupid back then. I wouldn't ever hurt them like this, though."

"No, but you'd drop Trina on a stage, right?" Robbie bowed his head and Jason scratched his forehead. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult."

"I get it man, I understand." Robbie raised his hands and chuckled sorely. "I wouldn't be quick to trust or get along with people that mistreated someone I cared about either…I just hope you know, we _do_ care."

"I understand you guys might care about Tori."

"We care about all of them," Andre interjected. Jade nodded and the others turned towards Andre. "We've been fools, and Tori was right. Right now, _none_ of them deserve whatever's happened to them. They've got to be alive somewhere, and we want all of them to be safe-make no mistake about it."

"Okay." Jade exhaled and stood up. The others quieted down and watched her as she moved beside Jason. She knew what was important to him right now and while investigating this matter was, she wanted to try and get him to open up a little more. "Jason…"

"What?"

She sat down and faced him, looking into his eyes. "How are _you_ holding up? All of this, I know you probably aren't thrilled to have to be involved with us. I know you've got to be going through shit. What are you feeling right now? Talk to me. Talk to us. You may not feel like you can trust us, but…you can…"

His lips were tight and his gaze heavy. Her gaze didn't move away from his, she remained calm and stoic, knowing it was best when dealing with him. "I'm a military brat, Jason." His eyebrows slid upwards and a faint smile grew on his face. "My mother's family primarily. She uh, she died in duty."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Her heartbeat flickered and she held her breath. Tears fell from her eyelids and she cleared her throat, knowing she wouldn't be able to conceal the pain she was feeling inside. "I um…I miss her sometimes. It isn't easy waiting for someone you care about to come home." Her breathing grew shallow and her head ached as the memory of the nights she cried out for her mom to return. "Tori said…she said you were away for a year."

"I was."

"That must have been hell for Trina, having to wait-afraid you wouldn't make it back." Jason shut his eyes and Jade began to tremble, her voice breaking between her words. "I get it. I know it can't have been easy for you."

Jason leaned forward, burying his head in his hands. His body started to tremble and his voice cracked. "I swore I'd protect her, keep her safe." Jade watched the tears fall from his eyes and smiled through her own. "She's out there, hurting. I want to know she's alive, I can't stand thinking she might not be…"

"Yeah."

"I-I'm afraid." Jade pat his shoulder and Jason leaned upright, sighing heavily. "I can't lose her."

"I can't say for sure, obviously, but if she's alive out there I know she's got to be waiting for you still. We're going to find her, Tori, and we'll save them. You'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?"

"I'd do anything for her, for her sister, for her parents."

"Right." She remembered the last thing Tori told them, her heart broke as those words replayed in her head. "Tori said she didn't believe we cared about her, but we do. She said to prove it, but we have no way to do that. Still, we would go through hell for her and her family, and we're willing to do exactly that now…I believe they have to be out there somewhere, and we'll find them."

"There is one thing." Jason's muscles began to relax and he uncurled his hands. "David and Holly, you know…Trina says they're ferociously protective. More so than she is." Jade's eyebrows curled together and her head tilted a bit.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but when Trina talks about Tori-and vice versa-it sounds like they think it's the two of them against everyone else. Trina hasn't said a great deal about it, but I know how protective she is of Tori…she doesn't think you guys have any reason for being around her sister, but because she wants Tori to be happy, she hasn't said anything. Her parents hate all of you, however…"

The shocking news struck her hard, tearing through her heart. She couldn't find the words to respond. If this were true, then it could be likely that the parents were pushing Tori to end her friendships with them.

"Wow…exactly how protective are their parents?"

"Not sure. It sounds like both girls have done their fair share of trying to defend you guys to them." Jason crossed his arms and raised his shoulders. "To be perfectly honest, Tori once told me it all hinged on whether or not Trina told her to give you guys up because her parents had been wanting it for so long and Trina was the only thing keeping them from becoming a major issue."

Jade wasn't sure how to take this news. It was important to know, not only for the group to try and change the way they were coming across but to know if this protectiveness of the parents could have also been an issue for anybody else. "What about those exes? Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Vega could have done something?"

Jason raised a hand towards his face, curling his finger over his mouth and narrowing his eyes. "I'm not sure. It's possible, given how Trina talks about them, but I wouldn't think they'd do anything too tremendous. Not sure on that, however. They really just sound like overprotective parents to me."

That's what they sounded like to her, to the point that she doubted their overprotectiveness would cause any great issue that would lead to their entire family being abducted. "Okay Jason." She smiled gently and rubbed his shoulder. "Thank you for talking to us. I want you to know it's okay, we're all in this together, and I think we'll find the girls…Trina's got to be out there alive, just hold onto that would you?"

Jason cracked a smile back at her and nodded gently. "I will. Thank you…"

It would be one hell of a road, but she had faith they could get where they needed as long as they all worked together. In her gut she felt Jason would be an important asset for them, so it was important to be on good terms. She also wanted him to see them in good light, even if it took time, because then he would give them a positive chance and likely Trina could see them as okay.

It would take time, but things would work out, she was confident. Still, she needed to find the Vegas first; and it was her hope that they'd find the Vegas _alive_.

* * *

Tell me your thoughts, what is on your mind?


	5. Unwelcome Speculation

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: This double thing isn't going to be frequent, but with the last chapter being a slight moment away from the big stuff and with my training over the next few days in my security job, I want to give you this chapter. since I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter out this week. It provides a little more insight and investigation as well as some concerns that our Private Investigator and rookie cops might have.

* * *

Chapter 5 (Unwelcome Speculation)

"Andre's not going to be too thrilled," Beck said with an attempt for light humor in the tense time. Jade followed him along the sidewalk to a simple one story home. Her lips were pursed and her gaze fell to the door. "We have to remove ourselves from the victims, but learning about them and realizing how little we know…"

Jade took a shaky and deep breath, moving her eyes to the solemn expression gazing out the house window. The man was around her age, had deep, dark blue eyes and brown hair that seemed to mirror Beck's. "How come Tori never trusted us with this? How come she didn't tell us she had a guy she was with now?"

"Jason seemed to imply, as well as Tori, that there's a lot that may have happened in the past that Tori would want to shut out."

She understood that, for she dealt with that feeling herself; if it wasn't talked about, then it didn't happen. One could only pretend for so long before the past opened up to swallow them whole.

"I understand why Trina wouldn't be trusting, and I get why Jason might not trust us; but why would Tori?" As much as she didn't want to wrap her brain around it, she knew in her heart what the reason was; and she didn't blame Tori one bit.

Her shoulders fell and she bowed her head as an exhale pushed away her lips. "Who am I kidding? If I were in her situation, I suppose I'd be petrified. All we ever seemed to care about was performance arts and stuff, so we did occasionally make fun…but that can't be the whole reason."

"It isn't." Beck pushed his hands to his waist, his jacket sliding up a bit as his gaze came to rest on the door. "Jason said there was tragedy, trauma, in their past. He won't specify much more than a few bad boyfriends; but maybe Tori just wasn't ready to tell us."

"Plus she did kind of come across as clinging." Looking into the whole psychological evaluations that her counselor taught her to, she begun trying to analyze and profile Tori. It wasn't easy, but she had been mapping up the personality traits of her friend with the hope that maybe they could find out what was going on.

From what she was gathering, Tori had a desire to be accepted and agreeable when it came to her friends. That she didn't tell them about events of her past suggested a fear of either judgments or disdain.

There was likely to be more, but she still had research to do. Trina, however, was much harder. There was a side to her that Jade knew nothing of, and it seemed only Jason and her family saw. How she was on the outside, high strung and acting like a diva everywhere; but maybe that was the face she wanted people outside to see.

The only way to know or understand was to get Jason to open up, but he was unlikely to unless there was a connection made somewhere.

Ian Dennison, the boyfriend Tori never spoke of. The only reason they were here now was because Jason let them know about him. The man stepped outside, closing the door carefully and leaning his back against it. His expression was full of worry and confusion, his muscles twitching and his breathing was heavy.

"What do you guys want?" His words stopped her in place. She had to catch her breath. Beck continued his approach, stopping just short of the patio. Ian scratched his nose and closed his weary eyes. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound hateful, I'm a bit stressed."

"I can understand that," Beck replied calmly. Jade smiled politely and remained quiet. She always considered him to be the one with the knack for talking to people because he was a better listener than most and kept as calm a head as possible. "I take you know who we are."

"Yeah." Ian's eyes opened partially and his frown deepened. "Tori never told you guys about me, she was always paranoid that you guys would make fun of me or try and talk her out of being with me." Jade winced and moved her hand to her stomach, emitting a subtle groan. Ian crossed his arms and crinkled his nose. "I'm not one for all that theater and song stuff, but at least I tried to get her to keep holding fast to her real passions. She was always indecisive, letting everyone else make her decisions for her…We were always trying to get her to have the confidence to make her own choices."

"When you say her real passions, what do you mean?" Ian pushed himself from the door with a sigh and moved to a patio chair.

"I mean…" He grasped the edges of the chair's armrests and studied Beck closely. "She loved animals, she loved all things scientific and wanted to become a veterinarian." He pressed his lips together, forming small lines that seemed to float away from his mouth. "This singing and acting stuff was a hobby for her. Something she enjoyed doing in her spare time. You guys come along, and all of a sudden we're all gone. Sherwood, myself, her friends…what little friends she had."

"So you two were separated for a while?"

"We didn't start dating for about a year after she left Sherwood, but we were friends for a while. She had other friends too, not many though." Ian rolled his head to the side. "It was like she threw us all away once you guys came in. She wanted so badly to be accepted by you, but was afraid she'd be ignored if you guys knew anything about us."

Jade had to wonder if this meant Tori had some kind of problem with paranoia. Anyone that went through enough trauma could. "Why would she be so afraid of rejection?" Beck and Ian turned towards her, causing her to tense up for a split second. "If she has such a need for acceptance and approval, could there be something to cause it?"

"I'd say so. I'm the only guy she's gone out with that hasn't cheated on her, and I don't plan on it. I'm also one of the few friends that hasn't turned their back on her; so Tori's no stranger to betrayal and rejection."

If she had brought her notepad, she would have written this down. So it was pleasing to see Beck remove his pocketbook and start jotting down the information. The news of Tori's past was huge, at least for forming a profile of her.

"Can you tell me the people Tori dated besides you?"

"Danny for one." Ian scowled and Jade watched his fists and muscles tighten. Her eyebrows went up and Ian growled. "Bastard cheated on her, then went to mess with her by using one of her friends." She groaned, recalling the incident between Cat and Tori a few years back. "Then that Stephen guy who came between her and that internet celebrity up north."

"What about friends? You said she's been hurt by friends in the past. What happened?"

Ian was quiet for a moment, his eyes seemed to fade and he slowly shook his head. "Something you should know about girls." He raised a hand over his mouth and leaned sideways. "They're both slowly coming out of their shells." Jade furrowed her brow and leaned against one of the support beams on the patio.

"What does that mean?"

"The way they act in public, versus the way they act in home. They both put on a front. Trina's the tougher one, she always has been. She's never been this girly diva she portrays herself to be…because after Ross, she stopped. What he did to her, it changed her. She believed it was because she let people see the tomboy side of her, she stood up for herself and was tough and she always blamed herself for what he did-so she acts like a diva thinking maybe that'll change things. It was never her fault what happened."

"What happened?"

"It's not my right to say." Jade's heart started to sink and she exchanged a sorrowful look with Beck. Even if Ian didn't say and Jason wouldn't, the sickening feeling in her gut gave her the sense of what could have happened. "As for Tori, it's all the same. When she was a kid, she was just as tough and stood up for herself just as much. She wasn't a tomboy, but she was-" He stopped, his eyes glazing over with moisture. "She was a bit out there."

Pursing her lips, Jade dropped her gaze for a minute before looking up. "What do you mean 'out there'?"

"She was into things that other kids thought were weird. She didn't play with dolls, unless it was throwing them around. She was always playing in the dirt, watching bugs and picking them up; so she was usually ridiculed for her behavior. Trina was always the one to stand up for her, though." He cracked a smirk, laughing as though recalling a fond memory. "It was the whole 'I can pick on my sibling, but no one else can' thing."

Jade smiled as the visual came to her brain. "Wow, I would love to have seen that." Ian chuckled once more and wiped away a stray tear.

"Yeah." His smile faded and his gaze dimmed. "She had a few really good friends in elementary school, but when they started getting older they stopped inviting her to sleepovers and wouldn't hang out with her anymore." She cupped her hands over her heart and felt the aching thumps beneath. "She would always try to get their attention, always ask why she was being left out but never got an answer." His breathing shook. "Finally they gave her an answer, in front of everyone, telling her how weird she was and how terrible of a person she was."

"Oh my god."

"Some of the things they said to her-it hurt her so much that she didn't speak to anyone for so long." She could only imagine that kind of rejection and how difficult it would be to pick oneself off their feet, especially after the two boyfriends Ian mentioned.

He snapped his fingers and took a deep breath. "Oh, I forgot about Jerome." Jade shook her head and started rubbing her temples with her thumb and forefinger. "First guy she dated. I didn't really care for him, he was kind of creepy since he was a couple years older than she was…eventually they figured out he was playing both the girls."

"Yeah, that can't be good."

"Not at all. Tori's 'friends' at the time learned about it and started making fun of her for it."

Jade had a fairly good idea of the image the two sisters bore. The bullying and rejection that changed Tori, and whatever happened to Trina that caused her a great deal of pain. Both girls had a serious meltdown at one point that changed them, an event or multiple events that they never wanted anybody to see.

"I see why she didn't trust us." Jade took another deep breath, stumbling briefly as she tried to move away from the support beam. "It wasn't so much a lack of trust as it was fear of rejection. Fear of going through more of the same pain."

"You can imagine how their parents were. Tori was planning to move away with Trina, and was talking about how Trina wasn't sure she wanted you guys around as much whenever that happened." Jade nodded gently and looked to Beck, who was dutifully writing the notes down.

"So…" Beck's eyebrow rose and he lifted his head. "Why did they want to get away from their parents? Jason told us they could be overprotective." Ian's eyebrows bounced and he looked off to the side.

"Overprotective might be a bit of an understatement. David threw Ross's ass in prison, much against the wishes of the man's father. I think Ross's dad was Mr. Vega's boss back then." Beck jotted down the notes and Jade pulled the corner of her lip back into her cheek, humming softly. "Then Mrs. Vega, Tori says her mom's deathly protective but never told me how much. I think she's afraid of saying something that would scare me off…as if I would run from her."

He sniffed and rose from the chair, his words breaking as he struggled to retain a sob. "Sorry, I…I need to go back inside." Ian walked to the door, stopping in front of it. Bowing his head, he placed a hand on the knob and choked on his breath and tears. "Please, find her. I don't know what I'd do…"

Upon their return to Sikowitz's office, Jade was still trying to regain her composure. Her cheeks were stained by tears and she could hardly speak as Beck relayed the information to the others in the group as well as Mr. Sikowitz.

"Sir?" Beck looked towards their former teacher and current employer, confused as to the man's silence. Sikowitz was leaning sideways in his chair, holding his right hand over his jaw, with his forefinger tapping his upper lip. In his hand was Beck's notebook, his eyes were staring down at the bottom of the page and his head was slowly shaking from side to side.

"David threw his boss's son in prison?" Sikowitz trembled and closed his eyes. "That's no reason to suspect anybody of anything, but it would be suggestive of a motive…"

"Do we question the guy?"

"No." Beck jerked his head back and Jade started to protest, but Sikowitz's calm and unflinching gaze kept her quiet. The man's shoulders rose and his chest expanded slowly. "Not now. It's too dangerous for you guys; if that's the case. Even now, to make such an accusation…the names here, the people involved…If these people had _anything_ to do with what happened to the Vegas, then we're in the deepest shit possible."

"What are you talking about?"

"First off." Sikowitz tossed the notebook onto the desk and sat up straight, dropping his hand to the arm of his chair. "Samuel Ross was thrown in prison five years ago for charges brought against him relating to aggravated sexual assault." Jade froze and an eerie silence came over the room like a dark cloud. "His father was the then Assistant Deputy Chief of Police, Hank Ross."

"Oh…" A lump swelled within Jade's throat, choking her as the tendrils of fear swept through her body. Seeing the concern growing over everyone, it was likely they all knew and understood the gravity of such an accusation. "You can't be serious."

"Yeah." The man grumbled and swept his heavy brow with trembling fingers. "I wish I was, and I wish that were the worst. For our sake, and maybe for the sake of the Vegas, we need to hope they have nothing to do with this."

That was five years ago. Currently Hank Ross sat at the highest level of police ranks; the Chief of Police.

"There's just one problem." He cleared his eyes moved to the notepad. "Miss Puckett called and confirmed that, in fact, the order to ignore the Vegas' disappearance came from someone up top…someone in those highest administrative ranks, along with the threat of termination for anyone caught investigating."

"We need real help," Robbie muttered, "But how much?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure how much we can do without being noticed, and if we are noticed…what could it mean? If Ross's father is somehow mixed up in all of this, which I hope the man isn't; but if he is-" Sikowitz tapped his fingers anxiously on the desk and growled out in frustration. "I can't put you all at risk. If you choose to pursue this, then know it's being done against my better judgment and wishes. I'll still help, but I don't know how much I can protect you."

For now this was all hearsay, or at least it had to be; which meant the evidence couldn't be used in a court of law. It wasn't much, and certainly not enough for Sikowitz to petition the government-whether that was the governor, senator, congressmen, or even the President himself.

The Vegas, if they were still alive, had to be short on time; and if the Chief of Police was somehow involved, that time could be much shorter than initially thought.

"You said it was worse," Jade remarked with a stuttering voice, "how much worse?"

"You should see for yourself. I just finished analyzing the Vegas' security footage." His face grew heavy and he pulled his laptop from the brown leather briefcase beside his desk. "This was a planned, coordinated attack. Trina and David did their best to fight off, but the large number of attackers suggests a criminal organization or group of some sort…Ian mentioned a gang member, but that's again information that's speculative. So, I want you to watch this video and you tell me if it looks like the work of a gang."

* * *

So Ian gave a lot of cryptic information it seems like, and it looks like Sikowitz revealed the bombshell. They may have a lead suspect, but is it just one suspect or multiple? Are the Vega sisters targets, or is David being targeted? If the Chief of Police really is somehow involved, how involved is he? The next chapter will pit the reader in the eyes of the security footage "the silent witness". Give your thoughts, give your input. What can be done?


	6. The Silent Witness

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

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Chapter 6 (The Silent Witness)

Through the eyes of the camera lens, starting from the moment Tori rushed her friends out the door. She slammed the door shut and leaned her back against it, burying her face in her hands.

The girl sank to the floor, weeping bitterly while her elder sister made her way down the stairs. "What's going on, Tori?" Tori wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve and started sniffling. Trina knelt beside the girl and put an arm around her shoulders. "What happened with your friends? Why were you yelling?"

"You, mom and dad want them out of my life." Tori breathed in shakily and wiped the bottom of her nose with the palm of her head. "Well now they will be." Trina scrunched her nose and looked over her shoulder, staring at her father's study. "I threw them out."

"Look, what was said in our family meeting yesterday…I know what Dad told you…" Trina faced her sister, placing both her hands on the girl's shoulders. "But the decision is supposed to be yours and yours alone. You don't have to get rid of your friends if you don't want to. We'll make do."

"I had to." Trina hugged her sister and rocked with her back and forth. Suddenly Tori gasped out, her eyes opening wide. "I had to get them out of the house." Trina leaned back slowly, her eyebrows falling flat and sliding in towards the center. "I got this note from Stephen, you remember him?"

"The asshole that cheated on you with that Carly chick?" Trina frowned as Tori removed a small folded letter from her pocket. The girl pushed it forward, her trembling fingers causing the paper to crinkle noisily.

"Read it." Trina unfolded the letter and her eyes traveled over the words as Tori paraphrased. "He says at eleven, some people are coming to hurt us. I didn't want my friends to get hurt." Trina started shaking her head and stood slowly. "He said not to call the police, that they wouldn't help anyway." Tori pulled her hair back, biting her lip firmly. "What do we do? I mean, do we take this seriously?"

"I would." Trina's eyes darted to the clock on the wall and her nostrils flared. "Call Gary, tell him to get over here, that it's an emergency." Trina hurried to the couch, dropping the note on the coffee table.

The breeze from her passing blew the note off and let it float to the ground, where it slid beneath the couch.

"Dad! Dad, we have five minutes to get mom and Tori out of the house."

Just then, the front windows shattered and canisters flew into the room. Tori gasped as a peculiar fog drifted into the air. She grabbed her throat and covered her hand with her mouth, trembling as she stepped forward and cried out for Trina.

Trina cursed violently and kicked out the glass sliding door, then backed up as two men dressed in dark clothing entered the room. A shattering noise came from the skylight in David's study and Trina poked her head in to see glass surrounding David and his head on the desk. Behind him stood a woman with a club in her hand. Blood was seeping from the back his head and onto the desk.

The woman swung her bat and Trina tried to deflect it with her wrist. "Shit." The front door swung open and Tori began screaming. Trina leapt away from the study and froze when she saw someone holding Tori from behind. "Get off my sister." Trina ran for them, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Screaming was heard from the master bedroom, which caused Trina to reel back and twist around. "Mom! Should have stayed with Gary tonight…" Trina grit her teeth as four people surrounded her.

"We know how to deal with you," one person stated, "You're too tough one on one; so we thought we'd even the scale a bit." Trina growled and threw her fists up, holding them at shoulder level.

"Fuck you." She kicked forward, striking at the person that spoke, then swung for the person to her right. The one behind her threw a fist, striking her in the middle of her shoulder blades. She arched forward, shouting in pain just as a second blow struck her abdomen.

"Overwhelm her, tire her out!" The blows continued, with Trina doing her best to deal as many as she could in between the blows she could block and the ones she couldn't.

Meanwhile, David awoke and shook his head, then sat still for several seconds before pulling his top right desk draw open. He shuffled through the contents, cursing under his breath. "Where is it, where is it?" He pulled open the remaining drawers before realizing the initial draw had been partially open. "Fuck!"

He raced away from his desk and exited the study, coming face to face with someone holding his gun in hand. "What's going on here?" Gary's voice echoed in the room and both David and the person with his gun turned to the doorway.

Thinking fast, Gary removed his gun from his holster and started to aim, but the gunshot that rang out came from behind. Gary's body jerked forward, his eyes growing wide with shock. "Gary!" David balled his hands up and grabbed for the wrist of the person standing in front of him, attempting to wrench out the gun. "Give me the gun, you piece of shit."

The person with the bat stepped out from where they were hiding behind the door and swung at David, striking him hard in the arm. He flinched and dropped down to his knee, gripping his arm and shouting out with pain. A second strike came crashing down into his shoulder, crushing the bone within.

The person stared at him for several moments, as though waiting to see what he would do. David pushed himself up, gritting his teeth. "You can't take me that easily." Trina emerged from the group of four that had surrounded her, bloody but victorious.

She grabbed the bat away from the attacker and pushed her to the wall. "Nice try." The attacker's eyes grew large as Trina started to swing. Instead, David grabbed the bat from her, narrowing his eyes as he approached.

"Let me." Trina stuttered and stepped back, clearly nervous as her father clenched the bat in his hand and sneered at the attacker. "Teach you to attack my family." He struck the attacker in the head, then pushed the tip of the bat into the person's throat until their face turned purple.

"Dad, that's enough. We need to get mom and Tori out of here." Someone was approaching from behind. Trina glanced over her shoulder and performed a swift roundhouse kick, striking the person in the head. "Dad! Focus! The house is full of these-" She looked up just as Holly was being dragged away by two people, she was unconscious and limp in their arms. "Mom!"

David let the bat fall from his hands and shouted. "Holly, no! Trina, help your sister." He ran for Holly, but a third person emerging from the hallway struck him in the face with the butt of his gun.

"Boss man want you alive," the husky thug remarked. David cupped his eye with his hand, stumbling back and groaning loudly. "Don't make this harder than it is." David turned sideways, then kicked to the right, digging the heel of his steel-toed boot into the man's chest. "Ugh!"

The man staggered back and groaned. David kicked a second time, but the man grabbed his ankle first. "Lightning never strikes the same place twice." He yanked back and David yelped as he went crashing to the ground.

"Who are you people? What do you want with my family?"

"Don't know, don't care." David tried to pull his leg back, but couldn't manage to break free. The man leaned over, bringing his fist down like a hammer into David's chest. David threw back his head, gasping as the air shot out from his lungs. "Time for you to sleep, Papa Vega." David managed to jerk his leg back and groaned as he tried to get up, his entire body trembled as blood oozed down the side of his face.

"You pathetic little…" He put his hand over his stomach and sat upright, glaring up at the man. "I'll kill you."

"You no recognize me?" The man pointed to his face and leaned forward. "Maybe your vision's too broken. I'm the one you hired to try and kill the one man and you'd let me out." David raised his eyebrows slowly and his lips parted. "I no kill the man, so you no help, now I kick your ass."

"You…" The man grabbed David by the throat. He gagged and threw his hands up to his attacker's wrists. His tears mixed with his blood as the man proceeded to bash his head into the wall beside him. "Stop."

A girl approached David from behind, her eyes sharp and fists clenched. She was bleeding profusely, and grabbing her bat with her bloodied arm. "What about the boy you beat in the alley? Did you stop when he asked you to stop beating him?" David coughed, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

"Daniel deserved it."

"Then you deserve this." The girl raised her bat and David cried out in alarm as she brought it down. "I know some people that are going to enjoy making your next few days a living hell."

As David's body slumped to the ground Trina twisted away from one of the attackers now on the ground before her. "Dad, no!" Another attacker came after her and she performed a quick side block to deflect his punch.

The sheer number of people entering the house was exhausting. Tori had already been dragged out, and Trina couldn't get through the number of attackers crowding the front door.

She was breathing heavily, reflecting the exhaustion in her eyes. "I won't let you people win. You won't have my family." Someone grabbed her from behind and flung her overhead. She screamed out as she went crashing into the piano and sprawling into the wall.

Trina pushed herself upwards and coughed, spitting blood out on the ground. She tried crawling up the steps, every muscle in her body trembling with each attempt to pull herself back. "I won't give up." She flung herself onto her back, holding herself upright by firmly gripping the edge of one of the steps.

As people started coming up after her, she kicked her feet forward, striking them in the head one after another. Her teeth were clenched tight as the attackers continued to come. "I don't care what my parents have done, I'm not letting you take us."

"You can't stop all of us. We will have you."

"Over my dead body." She managed to pull herself to the top and pushed herself to her feet. Several of the attackers were still on the ground, picking themselves up. Using the wall for leverage, Trina stumbled and limped towards her bedroom. "Just a little bit more."

She reached for the end table beside her bed, looking over her shoulder while fumbling through the items until she removed a small 9-mm Beretta pistol. "Alright." She took a deep breath and looked at the door. "Big mama's here." She aimed at the door, and the first time she saw movement, fired off a round.

One attacker screamed out, barely managing to avoid a bullet. "That's right." Trina limped forward. "Didn't think I knew how to use a gun, did you?"

"She's got a gun. Get her!"

Trina leaned around the door frame, pointing her gun for the steps, watching for the heads of the attackers to poke into view. "Come on assholes." She bit her lip, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Come on. You want mama, come get me."

"Flank her!"

"How the fuck do we do that? There's literally no way to go around her."

"I don't care, do something."

Someone poked their head into view and fired off a gunshot. Trina jerked back, and the bullet shattered the hallway glass.

Trina exhaled and started to drop towards her knees, sighing heavily. "I'll fight to the last breath in my body."

"Really? We've done our research on you. Whatever happened to those guys you dated? Sammy and Marcus?" Trina froze up, her eyes drifting sideways. "How much did you fight against them? Where was your vigor then."

"I know what you're trying to do. Provoke me all you want. I'm not my parents, I won't lose myself to anger."

"Oh poor baby." The woman now using the gun started making her way towards the bedroom, holding her gun steady. "Just take a break, everything will be okay." Trina threw her head upright and aimed her gun up just as the woman stepped within inches from her. The woman aimed at Trina, smirking coldly. "Go ahead and pull the trigger. You're not your parents, right? Does that mean you won't?"

Trina's hands trembled and the girl rolled her head to the right. "You've never taken a life before, have you?" Trina scowled, her bloody nostrils flaring as she sucked in a large breath of air. "Even if you shoot me, sweetie-pie, you've still got a bunch of people waiting for you downstairs. Your bullets are limited, and you look like you're about to pass out."

The woman reached forward, taking Trina's wrist in her hand. Trina gasped as the woman's grip tightened firmly. "You can't even save yourself, what makes you think you can save your family? You're fucked, and you know it."

Just then, the woman swept her gun through the air, striking Trina in the head with the butt of her gun. With a cruel grin, she watched Trina slump to the ground. "Good." The woman stood upright and turned around. "She's out, grab her and get her in the van as soon as you can."

The front patio cameras didn't pick up much, since it was dark and rainy outside. There was a car parked just out of view of the camera, off to the left where the family members, tied and unconscious, were being dragged off to.

It took a bit of time, but eventually a van passed through the view of the camera. It looked like a commercial transport truck, grey in color with no identifiable designs or labels. There was a dent in the front right corner, just behind the headlight.

Once it was out of sight, the camera continued to play. Gary's car sat across the street. The rain started to come to an end, all lights in the neighborhood went off and the street remained empty and desolate, as though all life on that street ceased to exist.

* * *

Did you notice any clues, red flags or anything? You're the camera here. Tell me your thoughts and all


	7. Brainstorming

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 7 (Brainstorming)

Jade was beside herself with grief, grappling with uncertainty and fear. While Beck and Sam took notes, analyzing every detail of the video, Jade was trying to bite back her own tears and screams. The others in the room seemed to do the same, while Jason was very still and very quiet, staring at the video with a number of emotions.

It was a bitter pill to swallow and tough to accept. Because it was on video, it didn't seem real. At the very least, Jade didn't want this to be real. "There are a number of clues," Sikowitz said finally. His voice was soft and calm, it seemed like he was trying to hide his own distress. "My first question to you is, do you recognize any of the attackers? Is there anyone that might be familiar?"

The question was less a test to see if they were paying attention or if they knew what they were doing, but more of a hope that they could identify at least one person that might lead them to potential suspects.

"I do." Andre whisked his hand from his chin and narrowed his eyes. "That girl that seemed to be leading the charge. At least I got the impression she was." Sikowitz hummed and rewound the video to the image of the woman holding the gun at Trina's face. Jade leaned forward, moving her hand to her chest as the face started to become familiar to her. "I've seen her before. We all have, I think."

"Hayley." Jade shook her head, her heart filling with disbelief and shock. "Hayley Ferguson. From that karaoke place a couple years back." Her heart sank into despair and she looked at the others, all beside themselves with disbelief and horror. "What would she be doing caught up in something like this? I know she was like, this cruel and horrible person, but…to think she could be _this_ bad."

Sikowitz turned to Cat, who was working on a company computer at her desk. The redhead typed Hayley's name into the system and raised her hands a few inches from the keyboard. Her fingers trembled as the computer buzz3ed. "I don't think it's so surprising." Cat's face started to pale and she turned to the others. "She's got a record, an extensive one at that."

"E-extensive?"

"Yeah. She's been busted for possession of narcotics, busted for breaking and entering, prostitution, and even armed robbery." Cat dropped her hands to her lap and shook her head. "Her mom's a really good lawyer, which is probably good because it seems like she's already a fairly hardened criminal."

Jason growled and turned to Sikowitz. "Uncle, can we make any arrests?" Sikowitz shut his eyes and pushed his hands down his legs, curling them over his knees.

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

Sam lowered her notebook, her expression was grim and her gaze rough. "I was asking someone in my department why we were ignoring the Vega disappearance, and they told me I shouldn't ask questions and I need to be careful. I can't trust any of my people, and that troubles me greatly. If we make any arrests, something tells me we'll be shut down faster than we can blink an eye."

Sikowitz nodded and reclined his chair. "Besides, you guys don't have the authority to make an arrest." He frowned as Jade and the others gawked at him. "I do, Sam and Beck do, but that's the problem. Beck is only my apprentice, so he doesn't have full legal authority to make an arrest, and Sam is working essentially with a hand tied behind her back and a gun to her head."

Jade cursed and looked towards the camera. Staring at Hayley filled her with anger and rage, but she didn't know where to direct it. Even the aspect of questioning could raise flags; if a group this large could attack the Vega family and win, then just investigating could cause the group to attack and kill.

"There's a danger to this investigation," Jade whispered. Beck gave a nod, seeming to understand. Andre furrowed his brow and Jason turned his head slowly. "That looks like a gang right there. We don't know if they're affiliated with a gang, if they are at all, and it looks large enough that they might try and kill us just for looking around."

Jason's lips tightened and his nostrils flared open. "So if it's a gang, we cripple them!"

"It might not be that simple."

"It is that simple. I say we cut them down."

"No, you're not listening." Jade looked at him, furrowing her brow as she saw the pain flicker in his eyes. "Whoever is holding the Vegas, whoever has Trina and Tori right now…they've got protection. They have the protection of the police, most likely and the protection of a possible gang. They may be dangerous themselves. We can't just go in guns blazing. We have to be cautious."

Jason's voice started to rise. "We don't have the time. While we sit trying to figure things out, those bastards are out there hurting them. Trina might be _dying_ out there."

"We can't afford to be hasty. I want to go in just as badly, but think about this carefully Jason. If the Vegas are alive, they're holding onto life." Jason furrowed his brow and Jade steadied her breathing, trying to calm her own nerves and be calm enough to relieve him. "If we go in hastily, that might cause the attackers to kill the Vegas. If we go in carefully, don't let them know anyone's investigating them, then the Vegas might stand more of a chance of survival."

"But if we take too long…"

"You're both correct," Sikowitz said. His interruption was abrupt and caught them off guard. "Right now, there's no right way to handle this. Or if there is, I'm not sure what it is." He scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Open and quick investigation could endanger the family as much as covert and careful investigation could. If we rush through, we'll miss evidence and clues and possibly tip our hand so early that the Vegas are murdered; but if we take too long, the kidnappers will eventually tire and kill them all. We _must_ pace ourselves, but we take too long or go too fast."

"We don't know where they are." Beck moved his hands behind his back and stretched himself, grunting softly. "We don't know what circumstances they're being held in, or-as much as no one wants to say it or hear it-we don't even know if they're actually alive." Sikowitz nodded and Sam closed her eyes.

"Exactly." Sam opened her eyes slowly and gazed out as everyone bowed their heads. "Everyone remembers the case involving Charles Lindberg and his child. The child was held for ransom, but it was found out he'd been dead the entire time."

"Most ransom kidnappings are like that, to be honest. With the victim dead, usually within minutes of abduction."

"But this isn't a ransom." Sam pointed her pen at the computer. "Beck, you caught where the abductors said whoever was in charge wanted the family alive." Beck nodded and Sam turned back to her notes. "We also have a second name of someone that may be involved." Jade blinked twice and Beck smacked his lips.

"Yep. Stephen. The guy that cheated on Tori." He narrowed his eyes and reached over, backing the video up to nearly the beginning. "That note Tori had, it flew underneath the couch."

"We'll have to go back and collect it. Do you think Daniel is involved at all?" Beck hummed and Sam fast-forwarded the video to the husky guy that had been fighting David. "This guy, along with Hayley, mentioned him."

"We couldn't even prove his involvement. Hayley tells Trina later that they 'researched' the family. Anyone could suggest that they were only bringing Danny up, not that they were involved in any way."

"Right." Beck exhaled and paced away, lowering his chin and shaking his head. "God, whoever has this family has the numbers. We don't even have the police on our side." Robbie suggested his brother once more, but Beck turned the suggestion down and raised his head back. "No, the CIA wouldn't help us out anyway Rob, they don't act in the US."

Robbie sank in his chair, despairing over the failure of his idea. Jade furrowed his brow and looked at Sikowitz for an answer. He had always been the one with all the answers and wisdom, but now even he seemed to have nothing. "Who could possibly help us?" She reached over, pushing Sikowitz's arm.

"I…" Sikowitz rubbed the back of his neck walked away, standing in front of his office window. His somber gaze studied the cars passing below and for the first time, he looked upset to be the man without answers. "I mean the FBI, maybe, could declare an open investigation. Still, open investigation could endanger the Vegas. There are people that need to be questioned, but how can we possibly do that without risking their lives? I mean, we are dealing with a proverbial hostage situation…"

Sikowitz turned around, his hands trembling and his face ashen and pale. "I…" His voice broke and his eyes glazed over. "I'm sorry to say, I don't know what to do. I have no idea how to proceed here. I'm at a loss…I'm the leader, and I have no answers for you."

A hush fell over them. Jade looked from side to side, watching the depression that surrounded her friends like a dark cloud. "We can't give up," she whispered, "That family is out there. They need us. We may as well be telling the kidnappers to kill them." It wasn't as though Trina and Tori didn't already feel like the world didn't care about them. "Just someone else to let them down…"

"No." Sikowitz walked over to his desk and grabbed his coffee mug carefully. "No, we won't let them down. We just have to think of something, anything that can possibly help our situation."

Jason was standing nearby with his arms crossed and expression heavy. He started to hum, his brow furrowing. "I think I have an idea, but it would be difficult. We have no one in position."

"Any idea is better than none, Nephew."

Jason uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Covert ops. An inside man. If we could find a link weak enough, somebody on the side that could help us…We may be in the best position, like it or not."

He scratched his chin and narrowed his eyes. "I remember a drill we had when I was stationed overseas." Jade listened attentively, eager to hear his suggestion. He pulled his hands behind his back and stood at attention. "We had someone on the inside, behind enemy lines, giving us intel. Our group was small, small enough to be unnoticed and small enough that the enemy would not determine us a threat."

Her heart began to rise as a sense of hope filled her. It was the first idea she liked, though it was the first idea anyone was coming up with. She wanted to get behind it, but was nervous because they didn't know of anyone that could help them.

"Our small group amassed the allies and connections we needed in silence, so as not to tip our hand. When we were ready, our inside man told us the best time that we could strike, and with all our allies and newer numbers, we were able to infiltrate their troops and attack. We took out the enemy before they knew what happened."

"It's certainly something to think about." Jade smiled, approving of the idea. If anyone else had ideas, she wanted them to bring it up and would begin thinking up ideas herself as much as she could. Still, she liked the thought of covert operation. "Our little private investigations group is small, small enough that we'd be unnoticed unless we tipped our hand…"

"I think it's great," Andre replied, "But the only problem is we don't have an inside man." He tapped his chin and looked at the security video with narrow eyes. "So maybe we find one…the question is, how and where?"

Jade frowned and gazed upon the computer, studying the attackers. One thing of note that she caught was the thick, black armband each member wore. On these armbands were a metal shield shaped insignia with the letters BK embroidered upon it. "I guess if we see anyone with those armbands, we know they're a part of that group…"

In the dungeons where the Vega family was, Trina sat behind the bars and glared at the metal door several feet in front of their cell. Her stomach churned with hunger, her muscles burned with rage and hatred.

Behind her, Tori and Holly slept on the cold floor, using each other as a pillow. David still hadn't moved from where he'd been the entire time, breathing heavily; but at least he was asleep.

Trina felt a need to stay awake and alert, guarding them. The guard that had been stationed had been pulled out for beating her up before, and now they were trying to find a new guard to stand post. She didn't get the point, but she was ready to fight as much as possible.

The door slid open and light spilled into the room, stabbing her eyes. Two men walked in the room, one holding a tray of food. Trina growled as they approached.

"Hey," someone said with a shaky voice, "I'm sorry for all this." The man was whispering. There was something familiar to his voice, but Trina couldn't put a finger on it. "I'm Jesse, Jesse Klein. You know, Jerome's brother…" Trina's eyes widened and her eyes darted to the second man with the food in his hands. She flared her nostrils and let the aroma of the food enter them, tempting her.

The light revealed his face and shock filled her heart as she studied the man's distraught expression. "S-Sinjin?" Horrified and confused, Trina grabbed the bars and watched as Jesse opened the gate and Sinjin pushed the food in. Her heart began to race and she let her glare dart to the food for a split second.

"I'm the cook," Sinjin muttered. Trina's stomach growled and she tightened her grip on the bars. The food was consistent of biscuits and gravy, fried eggs and sausage patties, and thick Texas toast. "Jesse and I convinced them to give you guys actual food."

Tears welled up in her eyes and mentally she cursed him, hated him for being here. When she looked to him, she saw a black armband on his left wrist. "What the fuck?" Her chest expanded and when her glare intensified, Sinjin took a nervous step back.

"We need to go now," Jesse replied sadly, "Enjoy the food."

* * *

Well, what are your thoughts? What do you think the gang can do at this point? Also, could there be an inside man potentially?


	8. Consoling the Boyfriend

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 8 (Consoling the Boyfriend)

Jade caught Jason in the park where he was sitting on a bench that overlooked the lake. Lately she'd been able to get him to slowly open up, which was a surprise considering she expected herself to be the one he disliked the most. She attributed that to the fact that he respected the fact that her family was military.

It may not be the case, but still she was grateful for any connection made as he wasn't speaking much at all to the others. "Jason, hi." Jason glanced sideways, his broad shoulders rising and the muscles in his arms tensing. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same." Jade nodded slowly and took a seat beside him. She gazed out at the lake, unable to smile at the sight of the rippling waters reflecting the sun. It was a scene that normally enticed her, but the joy she once had was difficult to find. "Trina and I used to come out here all the time. We'd spar, we'd sit and talk."

He lowered his gaze, studying the grass as it swayed in the breeze. "I was going to bring her out here during one of her favorite times to come out, when the moonlight's hitting the waters just right." Jade cracked a smile and leaned back.

"Tell me about it."

Jason looked over, his eyes lighting up. He moved his left elbow over the top of the back and extended his right hand forward, swaying it through the air over the lake. "Late night, the moon glosses over the lake, making the whole thing look as though it's lit up with this magical bluish-green aura." Jade looked to the lake and closed her eyes, visualizing the wondrous scene before her.

Though she'd never been out to the lake really late at night, it wasn't impossible to picture the breathtaking sight. "You can imagine the ducks and the swans in the lake during that moment, playing in the waters." She nodded, seeing two ducks before her in her mind's eye, bathing in the glowing waters. "Then looking into the sky, the stars are like tiny crystals on a blanket, dazzling the night sky. It's beautiful, just as beautiful as she…"

"You're a romantic." She chuckled and to Jason, smiling wider. "I bet that makes her happy." Jason's fingers curled in and he lowered his hand with a sigh. "You wanted to make her happy, that's good."

"I wanted to marry her." Jade's heart stopped for a minute and her lips separated. She closed her mouth, then opened again. Unable to find the words, she must have looked like an animal chewing on grass. "I had it all planned." He pushed his hand through his hair, his breathing rattled and he let out a heavy sigh. "Bring her out here, I even ordered a local musician to set up and play the piano…I was going to set the scene, then I was going to ask her to marry me."

His eyes glazed over and he let out a painful laugh, scratching along the side of his nose and eye with his thumb. "Trina's always had simple tastes, though. She wouldn't need a fancy proposal, but to me she's always deserved the best."

"Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with making a girl feel fancy." Perhaps this was the connection she truly needed to get him to open up; to get him talking about the one person he loved more than anything. Sure he was afraid to lose her, but at least talking about her kept him from going insane. "So Cat really introduced the two of you, huh?"

"Funny story about all that."

"Do tell." She raised her hands and grinned, eager to listen to the story. "How did you and Trina come together?" Jason ran his hand over his neck, breathing in deep.

"Well, Cat dragged me off in her way. Kind of turned me off from the start, and I may have let her know a little too bluntly." He shrugged and dropped his hand. "I've always been blunt." Jade nodded, understanding the feeling. "I didn't get to meet up with my friends that night, which was probably good…they weren't exactly from the side of the tracks my family would approve of."

"No?"

"No." He frowned and lowered his head. "That's another thing. For as much as Trina says I saved her, she saved me." Jade brought her eyebrows in and Jason raised his head slowly. "Back then I was addicted to pain killers after tearing a muscle brawling out in the streets. My friends were 'street fighters'."

"Ah. Reminds me of the time we all took Tori to that underground club…Needless to say, none of us had a good time."

"There are a few of those places around."

"This one had gorilla. Trina was not the least bit happy with us."

Jason winced and turned his head away. "Yeah, I think I know the place you're referring to." His chest expanded and he shook his head. "But anyway, I had no desire to spend the rest of the night with Cat, she just wasn't my type and I'd just gotten out of a pretty bad relationship at the time."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. So, Cat and I started talking about interests, trying to see if we had anything at all in common." He rolled his eyes and leaned forward, chuckling twice while rubbing his palms together. "It seems the minute I mentioned martial arts, she got excited. Said she knew someone that needed a friend, and someone that was into martial arts." He shrugged. "I was curious."

Jade's grin grew and she raised her eyebrows. "Intrigue usually starts everything off, doesn't it? Intrigue and curiosity." Jason laughed. He leaned back slowly and watched a duck walk by in front of them. "So Cat brought up Trina. Wanted you to befriend her?"

"Yeah. We went to the Vega house to wait, but then all of you guys showed up and Trina never did." She remembered that part, as they all wanted to meet up at Tori's and talk about the night. "Cat texted Tori at some point, asking about Trina. Guess where she was."

"Where?"

Jason's eyes rolled towards the lake and he leaned forward, hovering over his knees. "Here." Jade held her breath and turned to the lake. "I remember the night like it was yesterday." He grunted and turned his eyes skyward. "Full moon, every star glimmering in the sky, and the entire lake bore that beautiful moonlit glow." Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt the blood rushing to her face as she envisioned the scene.

"When we got here, Trina was practicing her kickboxing." He leaned upright and brushed away a tear rolling down his face. "She looked so beautiful, so fluid. When she saw us, she picked up her towel to pat off the sweat…she looked like an angel with the moon glowing around her. I was attracted in an instant. Like a moth to flame."

Jade swooned, taken in by the romantic description.

"Sounds beautiful. Like something out of the romances I read." Jason raised an eyebrow and she cleared her throat. "Yes, I read romance. What of it?" He shook his head and shrugged.

"Neither of us were into relationships right then, but we became fast friends. Eventually it blossomed, starting with coming out here to spar to kissing under the stars and, well…"

"Yeah." Jade shifted, somewhat uncomfortably and hugged herself. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. "It sounds like this place is pretty significant for you, I feel almost like I'm intruding on sacred ground." Jason laughed, it was rich and enticing to Jade's ears. After all, it was the first she'd truly heard him laugh or express any kind of joy since the abduction.

"Well don't tell her that, she might get a big head and start telling you to stay off her sacred spot."

She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." She was curious what Trina would think of her interaction with him; if the girl would even appreciate her efforts to keep him level. "I can't know exactly what you must be going through, but if I know myself or how I'd react if someone took Beck away…I'd want to hunt them down."

Jason frowned and looked off to the side. "It's not easy. Harder seeing their faces on video and knowing the identities." He balled up his hands and narrowed his eyes. "What I _want_ to do I know is wrong and not only would trouble me, but Trina would be positively horrified if I did act out."

"What are you thinking about?"

"How much I'd like to take every one of those bastards, beat and torture the shit out of them until they led me to her."

"Yeah." Jade remained stoic. His statement didn't surprise her because such ideas weren't far out of the realm of what people in their situation thought about wanting to do. "That seems fairly normal. At least you know it's not right, and that's the difference."

"Coming from you, I'd almost question the hypocrisy of that statement." He furrowed his brow and Jade looked away, rolling her head to the side. Her heart sank as she thought of all the nasty and hateful things she'd said or that she'd done in the past. "All the things Tori and Trina said about you, the things their parents said. I mean hell, you even uploaded that video of Trina flailing in the air on stage…"

"Yeah." She rubbed her arm and bit down on her lip. Tears filled her eyes and Jason apologized if he offended her. Shaking her head, she raised a finger to wipe away a stray tear. "No, lately I've been seeing a counselor, someone my dad works with. I've been trying to get on good terms with Dad, so I'm seeking therapy at his request…it's really helping." She took a deep breath and released it, letting her breathing shake and tremble. "I still have moments where I want to do or say something really off, really out there, but I know better now."

"So why all the behavior issues in the past, then? If you don't mind me asking, of course…hell, Trina would say you'd be the last person in this little group that I'd talk to, and she wouldn't be far off."

"Right." Jade looked into his eyes with a subtle smile and raised her shoulders up. "I mean ever since my mom passed, I guess I acted out. I tried to be that tough one, and I thought tough meant being mean or viciously cruel."

"I see."

"I met Beck in one of our classes during Junior High and we hit it off, but even he started getting irritated by my behavior; and you've seen him, how patient he is." Jason curled a finger over his lip, humming affirmatively. Jade's heart skipped a beat and she smiled, thinking of him. "God I admire that man for being able to put up with me."

"Not surprising."

"Yeah I was jealous when Tori showed up, and I pushed her away so much. So when Beck said we needed to give her a chance and be nice to her, well I wasn't happy; but I came around, maybe a little too late." Jade crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she remembered the security footage. "I saw Trina consoling Tori on that video, with Tori saying they all wanted her to give us up."

"Mr. and Mrs. Vega want it more than Trina does, but Trina has been teetering on that edge. She's told me that it wouldn't take you guys doing much else for her to tell Tori 'no more', but she doesn't want to force Tori to get rid of you…but believe me when I say Tori would listen to whatever she said."

Jade raised her eyes up, stunned but not overly shocked by his words. "So if Trina told Tori she didn't want us around?"

"Tori would shut you guys out, as much as she wouldn't want to. Those girls trust no one else as much as they trust each other. It would seem like that might apply even more now. How can they trust anyone when the whole world seems to hurt those girls?" He stood up, breathing out and crossing his arms. Jade bowed her head as his shadow fell over her.

"I am sorry, you know." He hummed and her eyelids opened partially. She thought about what Ian said about Tori and her heart broke mores as she thought about all she'd said and done. "Everything I did to those girls, everything I ever said. I'm sorry. I regret it, and I wish I'd been able to tell them that before. I'm sure you know a good deal of it all, and I know they should be the ones to hear that rather than Trina's boyfriend…but you're the best person I have to tell that to right now."

Jason smiled gently, seeming to approve. "You should tell them. I'm sure they'd love to hear how you felt." He lowered his arms and cleared his throat. "I'm going to the gym, give me a call if anything else happens with the case."

"I know the waiting is horrible."

"Not knowing, not having the answers…it's hard enough, but I'm a man of action; it's even harder for me."

Remembering what he said before about being addicted to painkillers, Jade wanted to be sure he'd be alright. "Jason, I don't know how you feel about me or any of us right now, trust is hard…" He turned partially and she rose from the bench. "But if you need anything, let us know. Okay? Talk to me, I'll be here." He furrowed his brow and closed his eye. "You had an issues with prescription meds before, right? I'd hate to see you go back there."

"That's why I'm trying to keep focused on things. Working out, practicing, studying…whatever it is…"

"Good."

As he walked off, Jade turned to look out at the park. She spotted a man throwing a Frisbee with a dog, he had curly golden hair and thin wire-framed glasses. Her heart flickered as she recognized the man; she'd not seen him in some time.

"Sinjin?" She approached and stopped beside a large oak tree, smiling as she watched the pup chase the red Frisbee disc across the field. Sinjin looked troubled and looked to be using this event to focus on something, which she found odd.

So Jade leaned against the tree and decided to continue watching, not wanting to get too close but also not wanting to be so obvious that she startled him.

Sinjin knelt down and hugged his dog's neck, burying his face into the animal's golden fur. Jade's forehead tensed and she raised her head as her eyes fell upon his wrist.

She pursed her lips and dipped her eyebrows down in the corner while leaning forward to try and see what he was wearing. Images of the security camera flashed in herd head and she pushed her body away from the tree, holding her breath as her heart filled with a sick feeling of doubt and horror.

"That…had better not be what it looks like." She wanted to charge him, push him down and demand information. If it was the bracelet worn by the gang that kidnapped the Vegas, then she knew the course of action would be stupid and reckless. If it was, then she couldn't be sure how much he could be trusted. "I need to follow him, see if that is what it seems like."

First things first, she needed to give Beck a call and let him know what was going on. She thought about giving Jason a ring, but he'd be even more impulsive and potentially reckless than she'd be.

* * *

Well there's that chapter, not much to see other than trying to get on Jason's good side and learning a bit more about him and how he came to be with Trina. Now we see Sinjin has entered the picture, let's see what happens.


	9. In Too Deep

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 9 (In Too Deep)

Sinjin was always weak-hearted, and never one to think things through or lead. He was a follower, and occasionally an observer. Jade could still remember the time she caught him smoking pot behind the school; he was so afraid she'd tell on him and pleaded to the point of saying he'd do her homework for a year if she kept quiet.

So the fact that he could be a part of a gang was appalling. Jade followed him closely, remaining hidden behind trees and any other objects in the park that she could find. Sinjin was walking his dog, blissfully unaware of her presence.

Beck had asked that she not approach him, and even instructed her to leave the park; but she needed to see what he was up to. So far, it didn't seem like he was up to anything more than walking his dog in the park.

Jade wondered if she approached him that it would make a difference, or if he'd just view it as an old high school friend running into him at the park. Following him like this could be suspicious, and more so if he was involved with a gang and they were watching him.

She wanted to be afraid of him, but the feeling inside of her was irrational. Angry and hurt as she was that Sinjin could even remotely be a part of the same group that hurt Tori's family, she wasn't surprised. At this point, it seemed nothing could surprise her. "First Hayley," she whispered with anger dripping from her lips, "and now Sinjin? What is this world coming to?"

Jade prayed with all her heart that her observations were wrong. She wanted the black armband on his wrist to mean nothing, and that maybe, just maybe, it belonged to some club or simple college organization. At the same time, she was only lying to herself, telling herself that she had to be wrong.

Sikowitz already told them that they needed to suspend their image of how people acted in the world, and that anyone and everyone could be a criminal or suspicious person. Even someone they'd known all their lives could have certain things in their life that they never knew; which they were learning with the Vegas.

"Beck's going to kill me for this." She moved from her hiding spot and picked up the pace, walking through the trees and greenery to get past Sinjin. "I need a closer look." She doubled around and began to huff and pant while swinging her arms to make it look like she'd been powerwalking.

Automatically she was assuming Sinjin wouldn't pick up that she wasn't sweating, but then she was well aware Sikowitz needed them to learn to cast their preconceived notions and assumptions of people to the side.

She made her way down the path and expressed genuine surprise when her eyes met with Sinjin's. "Oh my god, Sinjin! Is that you?" Sinjin raised his eyebrows and Jade slowed to a walk. "Small world!" Sinjin's right hand clenched around his dog's leash and he smiled politely.

"Yeah, small world." He swept his eyes to the left, then to the right. His face was sunburned and his body was starting to tremble. "So you're out here exercising? I don't think I've ever seen you out here before."

"You must have missed me." She ran her hand through her hair and bent over, trying to do some stretches. "I'm usually always out here." She grabbed her heel and tossed her head up, her eyes moved towards his wrist just as he moved it down in a relaxed position.

"Really? I'm always bringing my dog out and I've never seen you once on this trail."

"I guess the park's just that big. Trina's always out here too. You remember her, don't you?" He averted his gaze and fell quiet, a sign that caused a dull ache within her chest. "So, that's your dog?" He smiled and leaned over, running his hand down the dog's furry neck.

"Yeah, she's a sweetheart."

"May I pet her?" He gave her a nod of approval and looked away with a husky sigh. As she knelt and started rubbing the dog's neck and scratching behind her ears, she turned her eyes towards Sinjin, struggling to keep her patience as he moved his hand behind his head and started scratching his hair.

His foot tapped the ground and he looked anxious to leave. "Actually Jade, I wish I could chat longer, but I really have to go. I'm meeting a friend." He dropped his hand and exhaled. "It's good to see you again though, we really do need to catch up." She pursed her lips and looked up at him.

"We really should. I think you'd be surprised to see how much I've changed."

"Oh really?"

"I've been doing some work on myself." He chuckled and shut his eyes, shaking his head from side to side. She glanced to his wrist once more, her forehead wrinkled and her nose creased when she saw the metal insignia and the letters _BK_ on them. Raising her eyes, she saw Sinjin glancing at her with an arched eyebrow. "That is…an awesome bracelet, Sinjin!" She made sure there wasn't any ounce of accusation in her tone, but that of awe and genuine interest. "Where can I get one?"

"What? This thing?" He raised his wrist and looked to the armband with a soft laugh. "It's just a club thing. Something at my college, you'd really have to be a member." As he gazed at the armband, a great sorrow came over him. "I have to wear it day."

"Ah." She pointed at the thin red stripe in the center. "It's got two of my favorite colors, red and black, that's why I thought it was interesting. Do you think Tori would like it?"

"I'm more of gold and silver kind of guy, to be honest. Dark colors were never my thing." He wrapped his dog's leash around his arm and cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I said, I wish I could stay and catch up on old times…but my friend's waiting on me. Hope everything's going well with you, and that you and Beck are still doing okay."

"Alright. We're doing great." She stood up and moved her hands behind her back. "I won't keep you. Though I did want to ask what you'd been up to these days, like I've taken up an interest in human psychology." She put her hand to her chest and beamed with pride. Sinjin hummed and nodded his head.

"I've been taking cooking classes. I want to be a big chef one day."

"Well, keep it up." She waved and he thanked her while walking onward. She twisted around, narrowing her eyes on him. Her voice lowered to a whisper as he walked over the hill. "Yeah, just you keep it up Sinjin…you can't avoid me forever." He was hiding something; and if his avoidance of discussing the Vegas wasn't a sign of trouble, she didn't know what was. "I'm not done with you just yet 'old friend'."

She continued to follow him, hoping she could find out more information or catch him up to something. She was confident his bracelet was connected to the gang, which horrified and sickened her even more now that she had the confirmation; so now she just hoped he could lead her to the Vegas one way or another.

If this friend of his was also a part of this group, it would be unlikely they'd talk about the Vegas or anything related in public. There was a chance, and if they did, she could hopefully use that to here advantage.

She was also curious, wanting to know if there was anything good in him or if he was a dangerous and vile person. Currently, she felt anyone and everyone involved with this group was evil, which was why she couldn't bring herself to accept Sinjin's role in it.

Eventually he settled on the patio of a local coffee shop, overlooking the metal railing and the highway on the other side of the parking lot. His dog's leash was tied to the rail next to his chair and he sat with a large cup of the 'strongest coffee' the shop had.

Jade grabbed a newspaper and sat nearby, but in an obscure spot so he wouldn't see her. It was an old school spy move she got from the movies, which amazed her that it actually worked.

Eventually someone showed up and sat at his table, Jade had to lean sideways a bit to get a better look. He was a tan-skinned man with long dark hair that was parted in the middle. He wore a black leather jacket, tan t-shirt and long black khaki pants. "Hey Sinjin…"

"'Sup Jesse." Jesse had one of the black armbands as well. Jade felt a lump swelling in her throat and turned her head back to the newspaper. "Ran into an old friend at the park about an hour or two ago."

"Oh really? How'd that go?"

"Awkward. I could hardly look her in the eye." Sinjin let his shoulders drop and lowered his hand, running his fingertips through his dog's fur. "She likes the armband. I don't really know what she'd think if she knew what it really meant…or what she would do." He chuckled sadly and looked Jesse in the eyes. "I say friend, but she was really a bitch back in the day."

Jade rolled her eyes and glanced at the comic strips on the page, as if hoping they could put pleasant thoughts in her mind. "Did she seem like she still was?"

"Not really, that actually surprised me. A conversation with Jade West without a single insult coming from her mouth. Not something you see every day."

"Jade West?" Jesse raised his hand to the side of his head and he shut his eyes, groaning softly. "My brother's girlfriend talked about her before. Evidently they part of a group that got her kicked out of some stupid club her daddy ran before that stupid teacher complained to some business ethics group about the owner giving preference to his daughter over his paying customers…"

Jade raised her eyebrows and stifled a laugh. She never realized Sikowitz went to the ethics department of that club, but it made sense. A business owner's main concern should be his or her customers, and the man let his daughter hog the karaoke stage-which may have hurt business more than it helped.

"Daddy's little princess got his ass fired, fortunately the KJ was able to buy the club and keep it from getting shut down."

"Wow." Sinjin crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "No offence, but I can't stand her. Hayley. That girl's more of a stuck up bitch than Jade ever was." Jade rolled her eyes and huffed. The rush of her breath caused the newspaper to crinkle, making her tense up and glance sideways to see if the men heard the noise.

When they didn't turn or make any expression of notice, she was satisfied. Jesse swept his hand through the air. "I don't care, Sinjin. I'm with you. Hayley thinks she runs the Knights, but she's an insane bitch. Just as crazy as my brother is; he's losing it. Seriously."

"What he's doing now…"

"Honestly, my dad and brother have been running the knights into the ground." Jesse swept his hand through his hair and started grumbling. "I wanted reform, I wanted to change them into something _good_ , but now I'm not sure if the knights can be redeemed."

Sinjin leaned back, glancing down at his dog. "You pulled me from a dark place, Jess. That's why I joined; but all this shit? Jess, why?" Jade started to frown, her heart wrenching as horror and grief rose to choke the air from her lungs. Sinjin's nose crinkled and his eyebrows slid inwards. "Why all this insanity? I know you, I know you didn't want this for the Knights."

"Dad started the Knights as some sort of rebel motorcycle club. I thought they could be a force of good, you know?" Jesse laughed, there were notes of pain and despair hidden in his tone. "The black knights, maybe a gang of Samaritans or something. Heroes, _maybe_." Jade's head jerked back and her jaw fell open. "But that wasn't what they had in mind."

Sinjin grunted. "Clearly."

"I'm sorry you're caught up in this, I truly am. If you could get out of this-"

"A little late for that, Jess. I'm in this deep."

"I know…" Jesse raised his own coffee mug to his lips and took a long sip. Both men turned their heads towards the parking lot, their eyes looking beyond and watching the cars on the highway roll past. "My brother wants to impress dad. As cruel and virulent as my father was in life, I don't think he'd want this mess for the Knights…"

"What is his aim?"

"His aim? It's the promise that was made to him. Do this, and the Black Knights gain notoriety; the gang will rise up as a force to be reckoned with. Other gangs will recognize their name and whatnot."

"It seems like even the Hells Angels would disapprove of a stunt like this, Jess. Taking a cop's family. There's _got_ to be more to it than that. What's your brother getting out of it?"

"Revenge, I think." Jesse ran his hand over his head and sank back into his chair. "I'm honestly not sure. I know one thing…Sasha would fucking hate me for even being party to this."

"Seems nothing can go your way."

Jesse's hand tensed around the handle of his coffee mug and his tight-lipped expression intensified. "My goal for the knights. Reform, turning them into something good. That was her wish, her goal. It was my redemption. Ever since my father's death, my brother just turned a bad thing into a group of fucking devils that can't be saved."

"I don't know." Sinjin shrugged. "Purge the devils and reform the knights with the people that don't want all this?"

"Yeah. Right." There was a growl of frustration in his throat, and he began to raise his voice while turning a glare upon his friend. "How can they possibly be saved now, Sinjin? We're all demons. Even I'm a demon."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Sinjin." Jesse narrowed his eyes. "My father killed Sasha, and for that, I butchered him." Jade's stomach started to churn and she began to pale. "I threw his fucking remains into a furnace for what he did; if Sasha wouldn't already be horrified by _that_ act, she'd be fucking terrified by what I've allowed my brother to do to the knights."

"So stop him?"

"How?"

"I…I wish I knew."

"Even if I could influence him that much, to make him turn away from all this insanity; the decision doesn't lie with him. He's only working with the people in charge. I feel like I'm living the Sons of Anarchy show!"

"Yeah…" Sinjin took a slow sip of his coffee, his gaze peering over the mug. "I'm glad Tori got her friends out of the house." Jesse raised his finger to his lips.

"Not out loud, Sinjin."

Sinjin winced and lowered the mug. "Right. Sorry." Jade glanced sideways, holding her breath and mentally questioning what he meant. "I'm just saying, what your brother and Hayley want to do…using them…they lucked out. I might have lucked out by just being a part of the group."

"No, you're alive because you're my friend." Jesse stood from the table, adjusted his jacket and sighed. "If not for that, they would have sliced your neck and put you on display like the sick fucks they are." Sinjin put his hand to his throat, and Jade did the same with hers, gasping softly at the thought.

She couldn't help but wonder if this meant she and her friends were to have been killed and used as a form of torture for the Vegas.

Once the pair took off and parted ways, Jade made her way away, shuffling down the sidewalk. Everything she heard spun about her mind like a storm, and her stomach was clenching tight to the point she thought she was going to vomit.

Resting at a streetlight, she leaned against it and closed her eyes, groaning softly as a new fear clutched her. _"Did Tori really save us?"_ She opened her eyes and across the street she saw Hayley standing at the corner with a crew of two guys and one woman.

Her heart came rushing to a stop and her eyes widened when the girl's smug glare focused upon her. _"Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit."_ She took a small step back, seeing the cars passing by her. Hayley's gaze darkened and a smirk spread across her face.

Recalling Jesse's words, she moved her hand to her throat and started to picture her lifeless body being brought before the Vegas. "Go run," she thought she heard Hayley say. Her heart began to race as the light turned yellow. "I love a chase."

Jade's feet were frozen in place, try as she might to move. Hayley raised her hand in the air and shouted out. "Hey you! I remember you, how's it going?" Sweat trickled down the side of her face and her hands curled up into fists. "Let's catch up, hon."

The streetlight turned red and the crossing light turned to the green person. Oncoming cars came to a stop and Hayley took the first step onto the street. Even now, it felt like her legs were concrete. Hayley's walk was fluid like the sea, and her piercing gaze chilled her bones.

Knowing what she did about Hayley, recalling the video and letting it play over and over in her mind, there was never a time where she felt so alone and vulnerable as she did in this moment.

"Shit, no."

* * *

Jade's learned a lot, but the question now for her is where to go from there, and could Jesse aid? Maybe turn the knights into allies? One thing's for sure, his brother Jerome and Haley would have to fall before he could take over. Now, speaking of Haley...we're going to see just how crazy she truly is.


	10. Another Victim

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 10 (Another Victim)

"Jade. Jade West." Hayley laughed openly as she made her way towards Jade like a devil walking through fire. Jade held her breath and pushed her hands into her jean pockets, locking her thumbs through her belt loop. "God it's been how long?" Hayley tossed her hair back and grinned.

"A while." Jade tried her best to make sure not to show any fear, but wasn't sure how she was doing. Normally she would be able, but not when all she saw was all the ways this woman could murder her.

She'd stared down people before; but those were people she could control, people who she never thought could do a damn thing to her. This was different. This was a known killer, someone with a violent history that had the means, the power and ability to kill her. This wasn't someone she could bully, this wasn't a person she could talk down to that wasn't going to retaliate against her; this was a _devil_.

"How have you been?" She smiled politely, attempting to maintain her composure. There was a slight waver in her voice, however, and she instantly hoped Hayley didn't notice. "I heard your dad's club was under new ownership." Hayley clicked her tongue and moved her eyes up, appearing to gaze past her with a dull expression.

"Yeah, it seems people didn't think he was running his business the right way." Hayley shrugged and crossed her arms.

Thinking about what Sikowitz had been teaching them, Jade tried to observe Hayley's body language while figuring out ways to escape. Hayley was standing tough, almost like Jade used to back her days of bullying people. Her pose was intimidating, dangerous, and not open in any way.

At her belt, she had what looked like a switchblade knife clipped on her right. Jade swallowed silently, thinking about how quick Hayley could drag that knife a cross her throat without a moment of remorse or thought. "Well what have you been up to these days, Hayley?" The two men started to move forward, standing on either side of her.

Jade tried not to react, breathing in slow and relaxing her body. The second woman walked out from behind Hayley and appeared to be moving past the guys. She raised an eyebrow and motioned. "Who's that, and what happened to the other girl?"

Hayley's eyebrows slid up in the center and she tilted her head. "Tara? Yeah, we're no longer friends." Jade frowned and watched as Hayley gave a nonchalant shrug, treating her old friend as though she were nothing more than an acquaintance met in passing. "She thought I was too controlling, but whatever. She's not my problem anymore."

Jade turned and tensed her face. "Yeah. No offense, but I don't like being crowded. Think you could step back a little bit?" The guys next to her raised their hands up and took a small step away. The second woman crossed her arms and stared back at her with a deep scowl. "Thanks."

"So." Hayley reached over, touching Jade's hair and smiling while running her fingertips through the red highlight. Jade stiffened and retained her polite smile. "It's so funny that I ran into you here." The girl let out an airy laugh and narrowed her eyes. "You know, I've thought about you from time to time since my dad lost his job."

"Oh yeah?"

"I forgive you for what you did." Jade raised an eyebrow. "I blamed you for so long. You see, when daddy lost his job because of your friends' stunt, he…" Hayley's voice trailed off for a second and her blank expression returned. There was an empty, somewhat soulless look in her eyes that terrified Jade. "Daddy withdrew. He stopped talking, stopped doing anything. It was like the life got sucked away from him. He never left the dining room chair."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I know." Jade sniffed the air and focused her mind on the malice that seemed hidden in Hayley's tone. "Tara was so worried too, poor dear. She was there when my father passed away, it was tragic." Jade's chest began to tremble and the lump in her throat swelled as fear started to rise up in her heart. "It was so tragic that she took it harder than I did."

"Huh?"

"Poor Tara, kept bashing her head against the table, crying and screaming. It wasn't as though my father had become useless once he lost his job. I mean, however was he going to buy shit?"

Hayley's tone started to darken, and Jade watched the girl's hand fall beside the switchblade knife. The fingertips twitched beside it, her long and red nails tapping it gently. "How did he pass, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Suicide." The word rolled off Hayley's tongue like it was nothing. There was no doubt in Jade's mind that it wasn't true. There was no pain, no sorrow or emotion expressed. "My heart was broken, I mean what on earth was I going to do?"

"I don't know." She stammered, unable to contain the fear inside of her any longer. It was clear to her what happened. Hayley murdered her father in cold blood, and Tara was witness. Tara must have freaked, wanted to call the cops, and was murdered as well. "You moved on, the best you could?"

Hayley flashed a sick smile. "I tried to be strong. I had to take care of myself now." Hayley's fingertips embraced the tip of the switchblade handle, caressing it as though an object of fascination. Hayley closed her eyes and let out a soft groan. "Yes, I moved on, my boyfriend showed me how."

"Oh, you've got a boyfriend? Good for you." Jade started to turn, chuckling nervously. "But I really must get going." Hayley's eyes shot open and the girl glared at her skeptically.

"But where are you headed? Weren't you about to cross the street?"

"I was, but I just remembered I forgot something at the store."

Jade turned her back to Hayley, despite knowing the move was one of the worst mistakes she could have made when dealing with a violent person. "It can wait." She heard the sound of the knife flicking out and felt a rush of adrenaline in her. "I think it would be best for you to come with us, my boyfriend is really eager to meet you."

"No, I've got somewhere I need to be."

"I wasn't asking you." Without another word, Jade took off running, holding her purse strap on her shoulder. "Shit, get back here!" Her heart raced as she heard the sound of feet striking the sidewalk behind her.

"I'm done talking to you, Hayley."

"We're not finished here."

She wasn't going to be victim to this woman; she knew exactly what Hayley had in store for her. "If you want my money, I'll give you my purse."

"I don't want your fucking money bitch, I want your life." Jade ran around the corner of a building and rushed down the alleyway, knocking over metal trash bins and any other debris she could. She heard Hayley grunt and picked up her pace, feeling that every second Hayley hit an obstacle was a second she got further ahead. "Quit that. I only want to talk. Let us work this out."

"There's nothing to work out, I want nothing to do with you." She needed to learn to fight, but even then she knew fighting back wouldn't be a smart move. Most people would say when faced with a criminal that had a weapon, the best thing was not to get tough but to stay calm and try and find an escape; never confront or combat the attacker. "You're not going to kill me."

"Kill? No dear, my boyfriend wants you alive."

"Who the fuck is your boyfriend? I don't even know him. What does he want with me?"

"That's not for you to know yet."

Jade ducked into another alley, stopping when she came up to a dead end. Her chest was heaving with each heavy breath and her knees started to buckle as her widening eyes focused on the brick wall. "No," she said with a swift exhale. "Oh god no."

"Finally!" Shadows extended along the alley and on the wall. Jade's heart sank and she turned her head, whimpering as Hayley's darkening glare focused on her. "Relax Jade, I just want to talk." Jade glanced to the knife in the girl's hand and pointed to it.

"With that?" Hayley looked down and chuckled softly before closing and pocketing the blade.

"There." The girl showed her open palms and smirked. "Happy?"

"I'd be a lot happier if you put that knife on the ground."

"Oh please, if I really wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already." Jade backed up until her shoulders and waist touched the wall. Hayley walked towards her with a menacing gait, chuckling darkly. "We're really going to have fun with you. You ruined my dad, I hope you know."

"Your dad ruined himself. It was only a matter of time before someone complained. If it wasn't my group, it could have been someone else." She pressed her palms against the wall and kept her gaze focused on Hayley. She could feel her heart practically jumping out of her chest, filling her head with its incessant beating.

"Whatever." Hayley cracked her knuckles and flared her nostrils. "You can't even begin to understand the severity of what's about to happen."

"You don't say." She scanned the area, trying to see if there was anything that could be used as weapon against this deranged psychopath. She saw a crowbar, but it was behind Hayley and in front of the three people in her group.

"Hey!" Jade's heart stopped and she watched as Hayley jerked around, startled by the familiar tone. To her surprise and relief, she saw Jason and Andre rushing the group from behind. Andre grabbed one of the men in a headlock and tackled him to the ground while Jason performed a sweeping kick into the second man's head.

"Son of a bitch." Hayley growled and flicked out her switchblade while turning her back to Jade. "Where in the fuck did you assholes come from?"

"Bad idea." Buckling forward, Jade charged like a bull into Hayley's back. The girl shrieked and fell towards the ground, leaving time for Jade to sweep the floor with her hand and grab the crowbar. Rising up, she saw the other girl running for her, practically on top of her. "No!" She swung the crowbar up and struck the girl in the jaw with the back curve.

Her eyes widened as the girl collapsed to the ground and grabbed her face, screaming out in pain. The men continued to fight with their targets, leaving Hayley to push herself from the ground.

"Oh you little whore." Hayley wiped saliva from her lips and Jade turned slowly towards her. "You are going to pay for that. I am going to make you suffer." Hayley's eyes darkened and the woman let out a powerful scream while charging for her. "Come here you little bitch, I don't care what my boyfriend's got planned, I'll cut your heart out and feed it to the fish!"

"You are one sick little princess." Jade ducked in time to avoid a sweep from Hayley's knife. Thinking fast, she swung the crowbar and struck Hayley in the side with the back curve. Hayley's eyes bulged from her head and she flung herself away.

"Damn you!" The woman put her hand to her stomach and gnashed her teeth. Jade kept her eyes on the knife, not wanting to get slashed without seeing the attack. "I'll have your head. I'll deliver it to them on a silver platter." Hayley swung in a downward arc, full of ferocity and intent, her eyes filled with a fire like that which Jade hadn't seen before.

Thinking fast, Jade swung the crowbar upwards. "I hope you like tetanus, bitch." Hayley's eyes grew large as the pointed prongs of the crowbar dug into her wrist and cut through the side of her hand, tearing away the blade, skin and bone. Jade was horrified by what she'd done, but in that moment all she could think about was her own safety.

Hayley's scream echoed in the air and the glare Jade received looked like a glare from the devil himself. "This isn't over." Hayley ran past her, ignoring her crew while clutching her wounded and bleeding hand as firmly as she could.

Andre pinned his target and Jason's lay unconscious beside them. It wasn't long before Sikowitz, Sam and Beck showed up with pistols drawn. The adrenaline rush left Jade, and the relief caused her to collapse to her knees in a frenzy of tears.

"What the hell, Jade?" Jason narrowed his eyes and looked at her as though she were insane. "Beck called us and told us you'd been tailing people. Thank god we found you. Driving all over the place, we saw you running this way..."

Jade could hardly speak, to rattled and frenzied. When she attempted to explain her actions, she could only blather.

Beck holstered his gun and hurried over to her, draping a towel around her shoulders and holding her. "It's alright," he said, "It's okay." Sikowitz and Sam started making arrests, though Jade was concerned it would raise red flags to their investigation.

"I-If you arrest them, won't people know what we're doing?"

"Not quite," Sikowitz muttered. Police sirens filled the air and Jade looked up to her mentor with mournful eyes. "This was an attack against you, and you're stating Hayley seemed mad about her father losing his job, right?"

"Right…"

"So it becomes about that. Not about the other thing."

"Oh. Good, I suppose." She wrapped her towel tighter around her body, clutching it firmly and shaking back and forth as the police arrived to take the gang members. "That was close, too close."

Jason shook his head and crossed his arms. "Hayley got away too." Jade looked down at the crowbar in front of her and shrugged.

"I got a chunk of her hand." Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly cleared her throat. "I um, I think I need to learn to fight."

"It's better to try and flee, like you did; but yeah, it wouldn't hurt to learn some self-defense. You could benefit from knowing how to disarm an attacker."

"Could you teach me?"

"I suppose. First thing's first though, let's get you home."

Jade raised her head, speaking low and under her breath. "She's insane. Hayley is…truly insane." Jason raised his eyebrows and Beck whistled as she hugged herself tighter. "I never saw anybody so-I don't know. The way she talked, the way she acted; and you know what else?"

Sikowitz walked up, with Sam and Andre in tow. "What is it, Miss West?"

"I think she may have killed her father and best friend. I'm almost certain she did. The way she talked about them. No emotion when she said her dad committed suicide, and then talking about how Tara was so grieved that she started bashing her own head on the table."

Sikowitz's brow furrowed and he exchanged a concerned look with Sam. "Um, Miss West." Jade hummed curiously, looking up at him. "Her father's in Detective Malone's cold case files. He was found with a stab wound in his back…also, Tara Ganz has been missing ever since."

Jade was too numb to be horrified or shocked. She couldn't say she was surprised, but she didn't want to be right.

Once the police were gone and it was just them, she tried to be able to relax. Sikowitz turned to her once more, breathing in deep. "Beck said you found something out about Sinjin…as much as I hate to ask, because he said it pertains to our investigation…what is it?"

"You won't like it." She tried to walk forward, trembling in her step. Beck had to grab her to help her stabilize. She thanked him with a nod and met Sikowitz's eyes. "He's involved." Sikowitz frowned and bowed his head.

"You're right, I don't like that."

"It sounds like he doesn't want to be though." Beck slid an arm around her waist and she leaned against his body for warmth. "Take me home. I'll tell you everything I heard. It-It could help us."

* * *

Well, that was intense. What are your thoughts about everything here? Good thing the others were out looking for her.


	11. Vicious Rumors

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 11 (Vicious Rumor Mill)

"Glad you're up and about, and you could join me with this." Jade followed Sam, still a bit shaken from her close call the day before. Sam wanted to try and talk to some of the exes that were mentioned by Ian; and then she needed to know if any of them had something happen to them thanks to the Vega parents.

If something occurred, there was potential motive. Jade knew as well what Sam was going to try and do, approaching them without accusation and just making question. Still, they had to be careful. Any slipups, if the exes were involved, they could wind up losing the Vegas.

"I'm not letting a scrape with death keep me away from my goal." Jade tugged on her jacket and lowered her gaze. "Um, I still think it would be beneficial to approach Sinjin. He's definitely a part of everything, and it sounds like he doesn't want to be. It might be a better, easier, bet than going to the exes."

"Probably." Sam crossed her arms and looked up to the home they were approaching. It was Stephen's house. Sam was aware this man would probably recognize her, so Jade was going to be the one talking to him. "I'll be here for backup if you need me, but I have to make a phone call."

"Oh yeah? To who?"

"Someone that might be able to help us; and that's a big maybe." Sam rolled her eyes and let out a sigh of disgust. "Trina's and Tori's exes aren't the only ones we'll be talking to today." Jade raised an eyebrow and waited for the blonde to explain. It looked as though Sam were trying to swallow her pride for whatever reason. "He's changed a lot, but as I dislike asking for help in general-I really don't want to ask his help…"

"Who? Don't leave me in suspense."

"Jonah Brown." Sam narrowed her eyes and slid them towards Jade. "I dated him when I was about thirteen. He tried to hook up with my best friend at the time. Freddie actually became friends with the guy a few years later, and he was apologetic." Sam raised her shoulders and chuckled. "But hey, I'm friends with Freddie's ex now, so yeah…"

"Who is his ex?"

"Valerie. She uh, she's married to Jonah nowadays." Sam moved her hand in the air and cleared her throat. "Long story and little time to explain, it's irrelevant to our cause. Both could potentially help us, however." Jade tilted her head and Sam started to smirk. "After all, Valerie's become a well-known chef and was an apprentice to Rachael Ray. Sinjin might find admiration in her, so if we got her to warm up to him…"

Jade was impressed, but she was more interested in how Jonah could possibly help. Seeing the question in her eyes, as though reading her mind, Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Jonah's twenty-four. Through networking and connections, he got picked up by the FBI. It was mostly because his father worked closely with the FBI. He has the connections, he knows people…if the local police won't help, and we can collect enough evidence that there's corruption up top, Jonah _may_ be convinced to get his connections involved."

"Well what are you waiting for? Who cares about the past now, we need his help!"

"Yeah." Sam rolled her eyes and growled huskily "I'll talk to him, or at least left Freddie talk to him. Let's try and focus on evidence. Try and connect the dots." Sam pointed to Stephen's door and cleared her throat. "You can't be accusative here. Appeal to his better nature, try not to give him any reason to think he's involved."

"I'm a little nervous about something else going in here." Jade frowned and closed her eyes. "It seems like the people that took the family wanted to take us too and use us for whatever." At the very least, hearing the Sinjin's conversation with Jesse and what Hayley was implying gave her the hope that the Vegas were still alive out there. "Jesse even said if it wasn't for him, Sinjin would have been killed and thrown before the Vegas."

"Yeah, it sounds like the kidnappers are a bunch of sick fucks, but you're right. We've got to be really careful, and if Stephen gives you the impression that he might try something, get out of there." Sam motioned to the bushes in front of a window. "I'll be peering in through there, so you can find a way to signal if you need to. Or…you can guide him outside."

"Right." Jade heard a noise and looked towards a fence. Sam raised her eyebrows and took a step back when she saw the gate of the fence starting to open. They knew Stephen lived alone, so whoever was about to exit was unlikely to be anyone else. "Or maybe he's already out. Go somewhere."

"On it." Sam hurried around the corner of the house and hugged the wall, peering around the corner carefully. Jade took a deep breath and poked her thumbs through her belt loopholes. As the gate opened, Stephen stepped out with a pair of hedge trimmers in his hands.

He was tall, his once parted brown hair was now messy and shaggy, and he was sporting a beard that made him look like a lumberjack. His eyes fell to her and he tilted his head. "Jade West? What brings you here?"

"Oh I was in the neighborhood and stopped in. I was curious something." She put on a worried look and bowed her head. "I mean, I didn't come seeking you out or anything, wasn't even thinking about it till I passed your house."

"What's the matter?"

"Well." She bit her lip and looked off to the right. "I don't know if you know, but Tori's missing." Stephen's eyes dimmed and his voice faltered as his lips fell into a frown.

"Yeah, I heard. It's…it's sad, but you know I haven't really thought about in years."

"No? Oh, I guess maybe I had hoped." She tried to fake some tears, forcing a waver in her voice. "I don't know what I was thinking. It's stupid, I guess maybe I was just worrying too much about her."

"You need someone to talk to?" He pointed the trimmers to his bushes and sighed. "I'm doing some yard work, but you're welcome to help out if you like." Jade thanked him and started approaching, picking up a stray garden spade.

"I could dig up some weeds if you like."

"Sure." She'd have to ensure her back wasn't turned to him, because the trimers could be used as a weapon if she wasn't careful. "Are you trying to find her, or are you just worried?"

"Worried. I'm not the police." Stephen nodded and began clipping away at the top of the hedges. Jade's hand tightened around the handle of the spade, her eyes focused on the man and she felt a surge of rage and power coursing through her veins. He had his back to her, and what she truly wanted to do was drive the spade into his back and twist it as much as she could. "She was a good friend, a better friend than I deserved to have, you know."

"I remember how you were, she used to tell me how uncertain she was that the friendship would last. I didn't think you'd still be friends all these years later."

"Yeah, I guess we're both shocked."

"I remember her parents." Jade looked up at him, watching closely. He was chopping the hedges with a surprising amount of strength and urgency. "God were they insane."

"Insane? Insane how?"

"Well if it wasn't bad enough what Carly's friends did to me, what Holly did was a million times worse." Jade raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sam, who looked just as confused. The blonde was on the phone, clearly talking low enough that Stephen couldn't hear; or rather, if he heard he wasn't reacting. "The witch went psycho bitch crazy on me for cheating on her daughter."

Stephen looked over his shoulder and pointed up to his left ear. "First off, I can't hear a damn thing out of my left ear. The witch abducted me, put me under and operated on me, ripping out my eardrum…along with a couple other organs." Jade cupped her hand over her mouth, stifling a surprised yelp.

She didn't know whether to believe him or not; if it was true what he was saying, then it would certainly cast Holly in terrible light. "Fuck, you should see what she did to Daniel once Mr. Vega got done beating the shit out of him in some dark alley. Went and snipped off his nuts and half his dick. I hear she fed them to the alley dogs."

Jade gagged at the thought and raised a hand to her forehead, groaning as it started to throb. "Are you just saying this stuff? I mean, I've never even noticed that." Everyone knew Robbie was responsible for what happened to Trina, yet nothing happened to him. Nothing happened to Beck or Andre when they lied to David that night either. Even Jade had been found out through the hospital's security cameras, and she'd never once been threatened. "We've all done terrible things, and their parents didn't hurt us."

"Oh they wouldn't have." Stephen sneered, his eyes flashing with hatred and anger. "For as much as they would have wanted to, and _believe me_ they would have wanted to, those two sisters kept them at bay. Both of them. It would have taken Trina to keep them from harming a hair on any of your heads."

Jade was horrified, her thoughts racing and searching the past for any sign that the Vega parents could possibly want to cause them physical harm. They never noticed the parents, though they were often there; but she saw it on their faces now as she looked back. Anytime Holly was in the room, there was a coldness in her eyes. Anytime David was around, he would be deathly quiet and the way he would stare at them, it was like he would stare right through them.

"Stephen, what you're saying is really weird. The biggest thing I heard was the rumor that Mr. Vega hired someone to beat someone up." Stephen chuckled darkly and turned back around, cutting through the hedges with a powerful slice.

"That's no rumor. He hired some prison thug to beat the shit out of the police chief's son for raping his daughter. More than that, he wanted the kid dead in prison, hopefully shanked in a way it wouldn't get back to him." Jade's eyes bulged from her head and her hands moved over her mouth, dropping the spade to the ground. "I heard there was a guy Trina dated that was abusive as hell to her. Marcus, I believe. David busted him so hard he can't see out of his right eye and lost the ability to speak."

"How can you even know about all those things?" Her knuckles were beginning to whiten and she was grinding her teeth to the point they may as well turn to sawdust. It angered her the lies the man was spewing. "Seriously, it sounds more like you're making shit up at this rate."

"You know how much Tori trusted me before I cheated on her?" Stephen chuckled sadly. "She told me she and Trina loved their parents but were afraid of them, that their parents were immensely overprotective of them. She wanted to get away from them."

"Think I'm lying to you?" Stephen turned to his left and pulled his ear forward, revealing a huge scar. Jade puffed up and shrugged, proclaiming that he could have gotten it from anywhere. "Maybe ask around. Some of the girls' other boyfriends." Jade scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Maybe. You have to understand why I have my doubts. I mean come on, you think they could have done all that without any one of those men calling the police?" Stephen raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder.

"What? Call the police on some asshole high in the ranks of the police force that was respected? Call the police on a respected nurse? Call the police on people we were _afraid_ of, people who had manage to destroy us?"

She hated to admit he had a point, but in her heart she could understand how and where that fear would come from. She needed to check the others, just to believe them. "How could Marcus have lost his voice?"

"David crushed his throat when he strangled the guy. That's what Tori told me."

"And Tori, who doesn't trust easily, trusted _you_ with this information?" Even if everything was true what he said, there was no way Tori would have confided all of that in him. If anything, it told her something else: The exes might be working together.

If it were true, then the parents would have been the true targets. "Maybe I'll take you up on that." Stephen chuckled and shook his head slowly. "Maybe I'll see if the other men are as you say…"

"Yeah well good luck with that."

"Yeah…" Eventually he retreated to his house and Jade rejoined Sam. Her head ached from all the accusations and stress. "Sam? Did you hear?" Sam gave her a pitied look and bowed her head.

"I heard. I don't believe it, I don't know if I can believe it or if I even should, but I heard. We have no proof he's even telling the truth; and we already know from the note that he was involved in the Vegas' abduction. He could just be lowballing the victims."

"That's true. I hope that's what it is." She took a deep breath and followed Sam to the car. "You make contact with Jonah?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"He said if we can find enough evidence that the police chief is involved, then he'll talk to his FBI contacts about looking into it. We already have the chief's order not to look into the disappearance, which is suspicious enough according to him, but it isn't enough to say he's involved."

"What about his son's prison term?"

"It could speak of a potential motive." Sam started up the car and glanced sideways at her. "There um, there is something." Jade raised her eyebrows as Sam glanced up at the house. "I looked into it before after what Ian mentioned, told Jonah and he looked into it…Samuel Ross was savagely beaten by another prisoner during the sentence. The inmate was about to kill him, but hesitated just long enough that the prison guards managed to pull the inmate off."

A chill swept across Jade and she shook her head, still not wanting to believe David had anything to do with it. She couldn't help but be reminded of the thug on the home footage talking about David's ordering him to kill someone during a prison sentence.

Sam drove to Marcus Grant's home and found the man sitting with on his front patio with a heavy jaw and stern expression. In his hand he gripped a bottle of heavy liquor, in his eyes was an antagonistic look that concerned Jade deeply.

As she approached him, she caught the cold stare and noticed his intense silence. "Sorry to intrude, it's um…" Jade waved briefly and let out a nervous chuckle. "You don't know me, but I heard a rumor that I couldn't believe." Marcus's grip on the bottle grew tighter and he raised the tip to his lips. "I know it's insensitive of me and I apologize. I was friends with the Vegas." Marcus lowered the bottle and raised an eyebrow.

Jade noticed for the first time that one of his eyes was pale, and it looked as though he may not have been able to see from it. She couldn't understand why he wasn't speaking either, but there were plenty of scars on his face and on his arms.

"I didn't want to believe their parents could be so cruel." Marcus started to sneer, his hand shaking violently as his sneer turned to a scowl. Jade took a small step back, aware just how violent Marcus was in the past; according to Jason. "You know, this was a bad idea, I think I'll go. I'm sorry, this was stupid of me."

She made her way to the car and urged Sam to drive, looking back just in time to see Marcus toss his liquor bottle at them, still without a sound. She moved her hand to her chest and Sam flattened her eyebrows. "Still want to check on the other exes? See if there's truth to the rumors

"I-I'm not sure. I'm a little afraid, especially if _any_ of the exes are involved. Given the nature of the rumors, it sounds like Danny and Ross had it the worst, so I doubt bringing up rumors with them would be smart."

"I agree. Even still, we should check up on them." Sam turned the corner and sighed. "Still, Jonah warned me about something. I was telling him what Stephen was spewing as he was talking, and Jonah said if there's any truth to those rumors…we have to assume that a few of those exes-if not all-could potentially be involved. Going to all of them could be a dangerous, and it could tip our hand a little too much if we aren't careful."

"Because if they were all together, then they would talk?"

"Precisely. I doubt checking in on Stephen and then Marcus would be an issue, however we should probably stop here otherwise they _will_ talk." Sam took a deep breath and slowed to a stop at a streetlight. "There's one more thing. I contacted Ian and Jason both and both confirmed they were confronted by Holly and David with one threat: Hurt their child, and it would be their last mistake."

Jade was gripped by a nauseous feeling, still not wanting to believe the words she heard. "I can't stand this, Sam. I can't stand this one bit."

"I don't blame you."

"I don't care if any of it is true, we still need to find the family. Save them."

"Yeah. That's the thing about crime, murder, motives and whatnot…" Sam tapped her thumb on the steering wheel and shook her head. "It's not always black and white. In fact, it seldom ever is. As an investigator you have to ask yourself, how important is it that you find justice for someone that may be morally bankrupt?"

"Morally bankrupt? I don't care. Mr. and Mrs. Vega, Tori and Trina, we have to save them." She closed her hands tight and shook her head. "We have to save them, I don't care what they've done; if it's true or if it's all a bunch of fucked up lies, I don't care. If there's a remote chance they're alive and can be saved, we have to do it."

"Good." Sam smiled and nodded. "I'm glad to hear you say that."

* * *

So a couple things happening here. We've got another potential ally, but clearly we also have a wider view of what may be up with the parents. More suspects with motives or are they all involved? What's the world coming to? Give your thoughts and speculations and whatnot, love to hear


	12. Attempted Negotiations

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 12 (Negotiations)

Trina paced the cell, her parents and sister looking at her with worry. Gary lay on the ground, their abductors purposely keeping him drugged up. Perhaps they were afraid what a Navy Seal could do, Gary had won an award for escaping captivity during his time in war overseas.

"Are you sure about this?" Tori's voice trembled and her hands were shaking. "You really want to talk to him?" Trina brought her hands to her face, tapping her fingertips and positioning a triangle over her nose and mouth. She closed her eyes and swallowed the disgust and fear growing inside of her.

"If I can make some kind of deal. If I can save anyone, I'm going to. I'm not going to let you guys suffer." Trina breathed in shakily as the tears fell from her eyes. "I'll do anything to save you. You know I will. I will always protect you, to my last breath." Tori scrambled to her, grabbing her hands and shaking her head vigorously.

"Don't do it Trina, please." Trina bit back the anger and grief, unsure what choice she had, if any. "We'll find another way. The police are coming, they have to be." Trina scoffed, knowing full well the police weren't going to come.

"The police don't give a shit." She lowered her voice to a whisper, narrowing her eyes. "Mom and dad have caused this, but we're going to get them out. I'll get all of you out, even if it kills me."

"Kills you? Trina…" Tori's eyes welled up with tears and the girl hugged her tight, gasping softly. "Please no. No, don't do it. Don't do anything. They'll let us go, right? I mean, what could they possibly do to us?" Trina turned her eyes to the speaker in the corner of the room, glaring at it and wondering how much the man was listening to. "Trina, I love you."

"I love you too." She glanced back, her heart breaking as she knew what she needed to do. "That's why I have to talk to this man. I have to negotiate something. Surely he'll listen to reason?" She didn't know what would happen, or if she could free anybody. She was going to try and get her sister freed, but if she couldn't get that, she'd try for one of her parents. "I hate him, but that won't stop me."

"I'm scared for you, Trina."

"It'll be okay…" She hugged her sister, holding her close for several minutes as she could feel the frightful beats of her sibling's heart harmonizing with her own terrified heart. "I'm strong, Tori. Don't you worry baby, you're always going to be my first concern."

"What if he hurts you? I won't forgive myself."

"He can't do anything to me that would be worse than what's happening right now." She groomed back Tori's hair and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Absolutely nothing…I told you, I'll protect you to the end of my life."

The door to the room opened and Trina turned her head, scowling at the two men walking in. Jesse looked angry and Sinjin seemed positively horrified, as if they had to lead her to her execution. "Are you ready?" Sinjin inquired. Trina stepped away from Tori and walked forward.

Tori grabbed her arm and moved behind her, peering over her shoulder and muttering curses towards Sinjin. David raised his head, growling like a demon at the men. "You hurt my daughter and I'll kill the both of you." Sinjin flinched and Jesse shook his head.

"We wouldn't harm her," he replied, "But it's not in our realm of control. I'm sorry, sir."

"I'll kill you. I'll kill every one of you!"

"Stop it dad." Trina snapped at her father, her glare silencing him. "You don't need to get tough. We're not in the position…" She straightened herself and nodded at the two men. "I'm ready. If he's willing to listen to reason, maybe he'll let someone go."

"Not something I would recommend," Sinjin whispered to her. "You don't know what he'd consider negotiation." She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat and nodded.

"I know." They opened the cell door and Trina stepped outside, breathing in deep as she waited for them to close the cell door. Tori cried out, still pleading and begging her to reconsider her course of action. Still she'd resigned herself to confronting the man, praying she could talk him to letting someone go free. This man was the one person that she was afraid of, and her family knew it; but that didn't matter to her. Her fear was nothing compared to the desire to set her family free.

As the two men guided her out, she whispered to Sinjin. "What's it like outside?" Sinjin frowned and looked away shamefully. "Have you happened across any of Tori's friends? Do you know how they're doing?" Sinjin glanced back and raised his eyebrows.

" _You_ care how they're doing?"

"I want my sister to know if they're okay." Trina bowed her head and narrowed her eyes. No matter what her feelings were towards the group, she couldn't deny her curiosity. She didn't trust them, she didn't trust anybody but her family and Jason, and she wanted nothing to do with the group; but that didn't change her need to know. "If they're okay, that will ease her mind."

"Well…" Sinjin lowered his voice and Jesse glanced sideways at him as though warning him. "Since you asked, I ran into Jade. She seems to be doing okay." Trina raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"Any concern at all for Tori?"

"I didn't get a chance to ask, and she seemed happy." Trina blinked and looked away.

"Oh…" Her heart broke and she felt a sting of tears in her eyes. It was painful, but not surprising to hear Jade didn't seem to be worried. "I see. I don't have a lot of respect for them, or faith in them, but I hope they'll start showing some concern for her if I can get her out of here."

"If you'd like, I might talk to her some more?"

"Seriously? You'd do that?" She shot him a skeptical look. It was hard to trust him, much less anyone at this point. "I don't know. I mean what good would it do?"

"I don't know, but maybe you guys would like to hear how they're doing."

"Up to you, but talking to them may just get you killed at this rate."

Jesse grunted and shook his head. "No. I won't let that happen." Trina chuckled, curious the closeness of these two. "Dude's one of my closest friends. I know how much my brother wants to kill him and display him to you guys like a fucking flag. I won't let that happen. I won't let my brother win…"

"I see. Why the hell are you two even here?"

"Little choice in the matter."

"Yet you're free…" The two men fell silent and looked away from her as they continued to walk her through the underground corridors to the elevator that would take them to the boss's office. She steadied her breathing once there and slowly shook herself as a shiver ran down her spine. "Here goes nothing."

Half an hour later, Trina was returned to the cell. Her muscles were tense and a tremor ran through her body as she stumbled towards her family. Tori looked at her with a worried and frazzled look, she hurried over and threw her arms around her. Trina flinched and slowly wrapped an arm around her sister, burying her nose into Tori's shoulder.

She was too choked for words. Her eyes drifted to her mother, seated next to Gary, who was beginning to wake. Anxious and nervous, she waved the woman over, her voice trembling. "Momma." Holly left Gary's side and moved to her daughter. Trina placed her head on Holly's shoulder, fighting back her tears. "I negotiated a deal. You…you're free to go." Holly gasped and Tori cracked a smile.

"Way to go, momma."

"W-Why me?" Holly asked. The woman shook her head. "I won't leave my babies."

"He wouldn't accept anyone else. It has to be you." Holly whimpered, her voice weak and filled with uncertainty. "You just have to be careful. Don't let…Don't do anything that would endanger yourself."

"Like what?"

"Don't tell people."

Holly shook her head, quickly rejecting the idea. "No, I can't do that. I'm not going to do that."

"You have to momma, that was the deal."

The cell door opened and Holly was quickly ripped from them. "Sorry about this," Jesse muttered, "But they need her out now." Tori cried out and Trina dropped her hands, clenching her fists tight. "Come along Mrs. Vega."

Saying their goodbyes before parting, Trina glared at the PA speaker on the wall and shook her head. Her stomach clenched tight as she filled with disgust. "Come on," she whispered, "Let my mother go home." Once they guided her out, a television set was rolled in.

Trina raised an eyebrow at the screen, which showed a wide desert somewhere in the midst of southern California. It took a while, but Holly was eventually guided outside.

The woman staggered outside, shielding her eyes from the sun with her forearm. "I don't care what they said." Trina's eyes widened at the sound of her mother's voice. Her heartbeat started to slow and she shook her head. There was a rattle in her breath and she started to murmur. "I'm going to get help. I'm going to tell someone what's going on."

"No mom." Trina shut her eyes as the urge to vomit shot up. "God no." At least Holly was out, so maybe there was some hope.

When she opened her eyes, she heard Tori and her father scream. Tensing up, she looked at the screen in time to hear a gunshot and see Holly's body lurch forward. Her heart shot up and she ran to the bars, filling with anger. "No! Momma!" Her hands clutched the bars as she watched her mother's lifeless body bleed on the desert sand.

Sliding to her knees, Trina felt like a part of her soul had just been ripped away from her. "No…" Tori collapsed into a fit of tears and David started to cough and curse. Trina raised her head, her tears streaming down her face like rivers. "Goddamn you! Goddamn you, that wasn't the fucking deal! You said you'd let her go, you fucking asshole!"

She breathed heavily, glaring at the speaker on the wall. It took a minute, but his voice finally answered, cold and calculating. "No, Trina." She growled, gagging at the sound of his voice. "The deal was to let your mother go free…so long as you convinced her to keep quiet and not seek help." Trina pressed her forehead against the bars and slammed her eyes shut. "Clearly, she was not convinced and was going to seek help. Therefore, Holly had to be put down."

Trina screamed in frustration and slammed her palm into the bars. Her screams turned to sobs, and her body jerked with each painful cry. "I hate you. I hate you! I fucking hate everything about you." Her body shivered as the anger and pain tore her apart. "Hate, hate, hate."

"I feel so happy to hear that. Don't worry Katrina, I'll make sure you're the last one to die, after your father of course. After all, you're just that special to me."

"Fuck you!" Her stomach ached and her heart beat hard against her chest. "Fuck you…" Her lips trembled and saliva dripped with the tears falling from her face. She dropped further, planting her forehead against the ground and wailing at the top of her lungs.

The rage in her heart overtook her as she raised her head, her eyes turned upwards and glared at the speaker on the wall. Sick to her stomach, and filled with disgust and shame, Trina closed her eyes and moved her fingers to her throbbing temples. "You know what?" She breathed heavily and her nostrils flared. "I hope Jason finds you. I hope he finds you and tears you the fuck apart. I hope they kill all of you…"

"Your military boyfriend? Really? You think he'd possibly look for you; trust him that much? No one's looking, your family's going to die behind those bars." She watched Sinjin and Jesse glare at the speakerphone, both seething with rage and horror over what had just happened.

She chose to remain silent, knowing nothing she did or said would make the situation better. If anyone were looking, she believed it would be Jason; as much as she doubted anybody was. "He's the only person I trust now," she whispered, "And the only reason I haven't gone insane like my parents; but I will do whatever it takes to protect Tori."

Sinjin eyeballed her. He was standing close enough that he likely heard. The man took a slow and deep breath and moved his right hand over his left wrist, holding them in front of his waist.

Her final sentence rolled off her tongue as though it were nothing, and it felt like nothing. "I hope it doesn't come to murder." In her heart, she knew better than to resort to violence-despite growing up with such violently overprotective parents. She could never hurt Tori like that, never scare her poor sister in such a way; and Jason helped her learn to be patient and calm despite her anxiety and stressors. Now, in all the chaos that was happening, she didn't know how much longer she could hold on before resorting to violent measures.

Trina feared it wouldn't be much longer, and she was beginning to see that same fear in Tori's eyes.

* * *

Thoughts?


	13. A Powerful Alliance

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: These next two chapters were written together and separated, so I'm going to do you a favor and give you both to avoid running the risk of a sharp cut at the end of this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 13 (A Powerful Alliance)

"Where are we on this matter?" Sikowitz was reclining casually in his chair and was tapping his ballpoint ink pen on the desk. Jade stood in front of him, having been scolded for getting so involved in questioning the boyfriends without first checking in with him. "Are you wanting to investigate these rumors?"

"Yes sir. If there's any truth to them, then there's potential motive. The parents could be the targets." They'd have to run hospital reports, and several other things if they wanted to find verifiable proof. Of course, the biggest thing was what happened to Ross. His father's involvement in the abduction could be telling. "Then if we find the right kind of evidence to support what we think regarding Mr. Ross, Jonah Brown may get his people in the FBI involved."

"That would be glorious." Jade swelled with pride and grinned. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at the others. Cat was seated at her desk with Robbie standing over her shoulder, rubbing his chin. Andre, Beck and Sam were huddled in the center of the room while Jason stood beside the office door with his arms crossed.

Beck looked away from his group. "My parents are a bit concerned, and my grandparents. They say they'd try and help if they could, but it would be a little difficult. Sam has another connection but there isn't much he can do outside his jurisdiction."

"My friend's brother went back to law school," Sam replied, "He's become somewhat of a celebrity attorney and is friends with several judges. The problem is, there's nothing he can do."

Robbie stood upright, peering out at the group. "My dad doesn't know much about what is going on, but he's probably someone that could help us." Robbie rarely talked about his father, since it seemed the man was out of his life. Hell, much like Andre, he took on his mother's last name; so no one knew who the man was. "You're familiar with Thomas Reynolds?"

"Yes." Sikowitz ran his finger through his moustache and Jade turned to the man, confused and curious. "He's the Attorney General for the State of California." Her heart skipped a beat and her jaw fell open. She spun around to Robbie and watched Andre walk over and smack the man on the back of the head.

"Why not tell us this before!" Andre exclaimed. Robbie flinched and brought his hands up to the sore spot on his head. "You're telling us that your father is the California Attorney General?"

"I didn't think it would help." Robbie pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. "What good would he do? Besides, I can't stand my father; it's not like he's ever once given my family the time of day since Mom divorced him."

"It's still a contact."

"But-"

Sikowitz dropped his hand and leaned to the right. "Andre is correct." Jade exhaled and sat on the corner of the investigator's desk. "Whether or not he can do anything, he's got connections. The State Attorney General would have his finger in so many pots…The court system, the Governor, and so much more. Contact him, Robbie. Try and get on his good side and get him to help."

If Robbie's dad would help, it would be the most powerful alliance the group would have at this point. Granted, if she could talk Sinjin into helping, he'd be a potential powerful alliance; but she was doubtful of that.

"Get on that now." Sikowitz circled his finger in the air. "If he won't talk to his own son, I'll get in touch with him and state I need to discuss a case with him." Jade had a feeling the man would want to talk to his son anyway, surely he couldn't be so heartless to refuse that call. "Let me know how it goes, Mr. Shapiro."

"Yes sir." Robbie grabbed his phone and move to the other side of the room, pacing nervously as he dialed his father's number. Regarding Thomas, all they could do was pray and hope he'd be receptive. If Thomas was anything like Jonah, then he might say they needed more evidence to get involved.

"What we have right now is motive." Sikowitz leaned forward and started to push some papers to the side of his desk. He grumbled and stroked his beard for a moment, waiting for the others to give him their attention. "We have Beck's parents now confirming that the order indeed came from the police chief to not investigate the Vegas disappearance at the cost of their jobs…"

"That's suspicious enough, you'd think."

"Right. We have potential motive: His son being thrown in prison by David, and verifiable proof that his son was beaten close to the point of death while in prison. The video suggests that David hired someone to take Ross out…If Hank figured that part out, it gives him huge motive for wanting to take David out of the picture."

"But we have nothing directly tying Mr. Ross to the crime scene. Still, it could be enough for the Government to investigate, couldn't it?"

"Yeah. The Department of Justice, Internal Affairs, FBI. A good number of hands would have to investigate it. The only problem is, we have a number of other potential suspects and we need to single a few out."

"Who's our strongest suspect?"

"Right now, the Chief." He closed his and grunted. "Much as I hate admitting it. Once I take this matter to anyone high up, if the FBI or Internal Affairs takes over investigation, we have to hand it over." She didn't like hearing that, especially since she didn't trust anyone else with finding the Vegas. "Unfortunately we don't have a lot of choice. We don't even have of power."

"The police would try and stop us," Jason reported with a growl, "And then we have an entire gang out there." He took a step forward, lowering his arms and clenching up his fists. "I honestly don't think I could just hand this investigation over. I can't do the 'sit and wait' game, thanks but no thanks."

"Nephew…"

"No." He narrowed his eyes. Jade's heart went out to him and she frowned as Jason breathed in deep. "All I can see when I close my eyes, all I can hear in my mind is Trina calling out for help. I have nightmares that she's reaching out to me and I can't get her. I'm going insane, so I'm not about to sit and wait while some agency spends weeks trying to find her when she'll be dead before they get close!"

Sikowitz stood, his palms sliding up from the desk until his fingertips barely rested on the surface. "We don't have much choice, Jason. We're basically stuck in the same damn boat. This isn't a war."

"It may as well be."

"We can't just march in there, we know next to nothing about the people that have that family. If they're alive, we don't know where they're being kept. I know you're frustrated, I know you're upset, but right now we're pretty much at a standstill until we can gain some alliances-and even the alliances we can get are shaky at best."

"Give me a day." Jason raised a finger, extending his hand towards Sikowitz. Jade swallowed hard and looked to the others, her chest ached and she started to grow nervous. She was tempted to try and join in or try and calm things, but she knew better. "Give me a day to follow these fuckers, to grab on of them and tell me where they're holding the Vegas. I'll go in there and take them all out."

"That's reckless and poorly thought out. I think you know damn well no one would want you doing that, you'd be throwing away your life. Would Trina want you doing that?"

"No, but if it got her out of there…"

"Jason, we need to be cautious. We need to plan."

"Where has that gotten us? Nowhere."

"Just trust me, I will-" Just then a buzzer sound filled the air. Sikowitz paused and the others fell quiet. Sikowitz looked down at a speaker machine on his desk. He pressed a button on the machine and exhaled. "Private Investigations."

"This is Mr. Sikowitz, right?" Jade's widening gaze fell to the speaker. She backed up a step and raised her hand to her mouth. "It's Sinjin. I was trying to find you." His voice wavered. Sikowitz turned his eyes upwards and the others remained frozen. "I just remember you were always so wise back in school, I thought I could use your advice again."

"What are you trying to pull, son. I'm not a guidance counselor. I'm not even a teacher anymore. I'm a private investigator. Unless you have a case for me, I can't help you." Sikowitz swept his two forefingers across his sweaty brow and sighed as Jade shot him a confused look

"He could help," she reminded. It would be a terrible move to turn Sinjin away now, especially if he was coming to them rather than the other way around.

"I…I do have a case. Sort of. Look, I can't say over here, out here. Please, just let me talk to you." Sikowitz's furry eyebrows fell down over his eyes and he glanced at Cat, who had the ability to unlock the office doors and allow Sinjin in.

"Fine," he said after a brief pause. "I'll ring you in." Sinjin thanked him with a relieved tone while Cat struck the office button. Sikowitz slid his hands along the sides of his waist, folding his elbows into his beige blazer jacket. "None of you say a word, do you understand?"

"That's going to be difficult," Jason replied with a growl. He returned to the wall and returned to his harsh pose from before. Andre and Beck moved to the couch in the office, where Andre sat on the center cushion and spread his knees and arms out. Beck leaned sideways against the arm of the chair, using his palm as a perch-gripping the fabric tightly.

Cat started typing away on the computer, shaking her head and looking up occasionally with discontentment. Robbie moved over with a slow walk, pushing his cell phone into his pocket. His eyes were heavy and filling with moisture. "My dad was…happy to hear from me." Sikowitz grunted and Jade smiled, wanting to say 'told you so'. "Um, he said the same thing we keep hearing. Get enough to build something against the Chief and he'll try and help. Seems we still don't have any immediate alliances."

"Maybe not, but never say never." Sikowitz peered between Robbie and Jade, staring at the office door. The two turned sideways when they heard the door latch turn. Once the door slid open, Sinjin made his way inside without noticing everybody's appearance.

Jason casually scooted in position behind Sinjin, providing an obstacle between him and the door. The marine sneered at the man, looking ready to tackle him to the ground and tear him apart.

"Mr. Sikowitz, I-" Sinjin froze, his eyes moving from his former teacher and onto Jade and Robbie. "Uh." He looked to his right at the couch. Beck had his head bowed and turned away while his hand ran down the back of his neck. Andre was glaring, slowly shaking his head from side to side. "Oh." The man looked to his left, spying Cat, who didn't bother to look up from the computer. "Maybe I can come back another time?"

He turned around and stepped forward, stopping just short of falling into Jason's chest. Sinjin raised his hands and took a small step back. Jason tilted his head to the right and poked a finger out towards Sikowitz, as though instructing him to talk.

"Mr. Van Cleef." Sikowitz's height seemed to grow as Sinjin casually twisted towards him. "You said you had a case?" Sikowitz pulled his right hand away from his waist and swept it through the air. "Why don't you tell me now? I have a feeling we may help one another."

Sinjin turned back towards Jason, taking a step back and chuckling nervously. Jason's jaw tightened and his muscles began to tense. "Um, I know you." Jason cracked a cruel smirk and narrowed his eyes. "Jason, right? Sikowitz's nephew? I um…"

"Don't talk to me. You don't want to hear what I have to say to you."

"O-Okay."

"First thing first," Sikowitz stated, his voice rising up to overtake everyone. "Why are you here? Don't beat around the bush."

"I'm here…because I want your help." Sinjin tapped his two fingers together and moved between Jade and Robbie, approaching Sikowitz's desk. "I know something about the Vega's disappearance." Sikowitz smirked at him and Jade practically fell to the floor. "But I'm scared and I can't go to the police. I can't go anywhere, because they'll kill me."'

"Who will kill you?"

"Who wouldn't want to kill me at this point?" Sinjin rolled his eyes and groaned. "A gang, the cops, and quite possibly I feel like your nephew."

"Oh he does." Sinjin's eyes widened and Sikowitz chuckled sadly. "He wants to snap you like a twig right now, and he very likely would do exactly that. Why come to me with this? What's going on?"

"I'm sick and tired of everything, that's what. There's only one other person I trust, someone that has been keeping me guarded; and that's my best friend. Look, I know what's going on with the Vegas."

"We aren't going to beat around the bush here." Sikowitz walked around his desk, his fingers sliding across the surface. "We know you're involved." Sinjin's jaw fell open and he grew silent as Sikowitz walked in front of the desk and sat on the edge. The elder man crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "We're investigating the disappearance. The question is, should we trust you? Why should we trust you?"

"H-How do you know I'm involved?"

"The wristband, for one." Sinjin raised his arm, frowning as he looked to the black band on his wrist. "Same exact band as the gang captured on the Vega's home security footage." Sikowitz rolled his head to the right and poked his thumb at Jade. "Also, one of my hired apprentices here overheard you talking to an associate."

Sinjin began to pale and looked around the room. "That's why it felt so cold in here from the moment I stepped in."

"Yeah, and I keep the temperature in my office fairly warm. Feels like you're on ice right now, doesn't it?"

Jason coughed into his hand and Sikowitz looked over to him. "Uncle? May I please punch him? If nothing else, just to satisfy myself a bit?" Sikowitz sighed and shook his head.

"We all kind of want to punch him right now," Jade replied with a chuckle. Sinjin's head fell and he swept his hands outward.

"I'm coming with no strings attached. I'll help, anything you want, I will help you."

Sikowitz pressed his lips together, scanning Sinjin up and down. "Does anyone else know you're here?"

"No. Not even Jesse. I have to tell him though, I mean he's going to need to know. We're on the same side."

"How can we trust him?"

"You can trust me, and I trust him, so…" Sinjin shrugged. Sikowitz tapped his chin and narrowed his eyes. After a minute, Sinjin started to look frustrated as he was nauseous. "Look, I'm the chef. Jesse's convinced them to let me cook actual meals for the family, but the torture…the things going on. I can't, Jesse can't, it's too much. It's disgusting, it's horrible." Sinjin grabbed his head and started to shake, his voice shook with a sob. "I feel like I'm losing my grip on reality. I'm in so deep I can't go back. Fuck, I could be gunned down if they knew I was in a ten foot vicinity, and Jesse has only so much power."

Sikowitz looked at the others, his arms stretched as his hands curled over the edge of his desk. He raised his eyebrows up and crossed his legs. "What do you all say?"

"I say we trust him," Jade replied. "We could use someone on the inside." Sinjin clasped his hands together and raised them beneath his chin.

"Please. I need to do something. I don't know what else to do."

"How are they? The Vegas?" Jade shook her hand in the air and cleared her throat quickly. "Let me clarify: Are they alive?" Sinjin took a deep breath, then blew out a heavy breath of air.

"For the most part." When Jason took a step towards him, Sinjin cried out in alarm and threw up his hands. "Trina's alive! I repeat, she is alive." He looked over his shoulder and into Jason's trembling gaze. "She can't stop talking about you, man. She thinks you're going to come save them, that you're out there looking for her…"

Jason staggered back, his body sinking as a broken breath fell from his lips. "Really?" His eyebrows moved up slowly and his quivering hand rose to his mouth.

"She's tough, and I mean tough. She's been carrying the weight of her family on her shoulders. However…Mr. Vega's in pretty bad shape, and something's wrong with Detective Malone." Jade's lips pursed and Sinjin turned his head down. "Malone keeps drifting in and out of consciousness. They're keeping him drugged up, I'm pretty sure about that. They don't want him trying to escape and tear everyone apart."

"What about Tori?" Andre's question belted out and Sinjin nodded to him. "Is she okay?"

"She is alive. God forbid anybody lay a hand on her…Trina's like a tiger, won't let anyone get close to her sister." Sinjin paused, his voice faltering and his eyes sliding to the side. The longer his pause, the greater the unease in the room became. Eventually Jade had to nudge him to say what else was on his mind. "Um, Trina attempted to negotiate the release of her family, but only one relative was allowed, and they went with Mrs. Vega…it was conditional…"

"What happened?"

"Trina couldn't convince her mother not to tell someone, not to seek help. She was…" Sinjin shut his eyes, fresh tears fell along his cheeks. Jade felt an emptiness growing inside of her and the air in the room became much heavier. "She was gunned down outside the facility. T-That's part of why I'm here, I'm afraid, and I don't know how much more Jesse can influence anything. They took advantage, Holly was never going to make it out alive and...I couldn't take it." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and trembled. "I just spent the last hour and a day puking and beating holes in my walls at home. Bastard even threatens me with my sister, doesn't have her but he knows where to find her. I'm sick of it all."

"You will be a great help," Sikowitz said calmly. The man's voice bore some hesitation, along with a note of fear. "If you feel Jesse can help, you can tell him-so long as nobody else knows. We need to form alliances, form a case…in order to pull in some strong allies that will help us. We need someone on the inside, someone like you. Are you okay with this?"

"If it will save them." Sinjin exhaled and nodded his head. "I will do what I can to update you. Jesse and I can try and keep the danger to a minimum. Give me a minute, and I'll tell you everything I can…"

* * *

Okay tell me what you're thinking of with this chapter? Seemed everyone wanted to beat Sinjin up. His will be a powerful alliance, and we can't forget Robbie's father either. The FBI also hangs in the balance. Let's see what comes.


	14. Fleeting Hope

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: As said, this and the last chapter I'm giving you together as a favor because they were written together and I wanted to avoid a sharp cut where I had to split the two.

* * *

Chapter 14 (Fleeting Hope)

Jade stood with Beck and Sam, taking notes along with them. Andre had moved from the couch and was standing on the right side while Sikowitz stood on the left. Jason and Robbie were standing behind them, and Cat was still at her desk.

Sinjin looked a bit uncomfortable to be crowded as he sat where Andre had been, but if he was, he wasn't saying anything. "Honestly you can't get touch these people." Sinjin swept his hand through his curly hair and shuddered. "The Black Knights are too strong, too powerful."

"I've run into them," Jade muttered. Sinjin's brow furrowed as she hugged herself and felt a cold tremor run down her spine. "Hayley. She was psychotic, and I mean psychotic to my standards." Sinjin's hand tapped the couch cushion and he made a swallowing noise.

"Yeah, she's Jerome's girlfriend. Jerome is Jesse's older brother, and the leader of the Black Knights." Sinjin's nostrils flared out and his lips twisted scornfully. "They've turned what was once something Jesse wanted as a force of good into something so disturbing, so disgusting that even Jesse doesn't think it can be redeemed."

"There's redemption for almost anything," Sikowitz replied. "So what is the big issue we're facing with the Knights? Do they stand in the way?" Sinjin chuckled softly.

"Do they stand in the way? Only as much as an army that guards a fortress encasing a king." Sinjin crossed his arms and tensed up. "They're the biggest treat you face. The minute they suspect someone of investigation, Jerome and Hayley will order your murder."

"What is Jerome's role in this? Why is he involved? What is he getting out of the kidnapping of the Vega family?"

"Jerome? He's in the chief's pocket. He's the very reason David and Holly Vega were so protective of their children. He was both the girls' first person they dated-and the first guy to cheat on them…with the other."

"Okay."

"Danny and Ross were pretty close; Danny to Tori and Ross to Trina. They were the straw that broke the camel's back. Daniel cheated on Tori, and Ross did what he did…Nearly got their asses killed by Mr. and Mrs. Vega."

Jade gasped and exchanged a grievous look with Sam. It was horrifying to hear the rumors brought up again, and now with more truth to them than before. Sinjin removed his glasses and began to clean the lens with his button-up shirt.

"Stephen and Marcus were next. Tori can't stop getting cheaters and apparently Trina couldn't stop getting abusers. I guess they both finally found their prince." He smiled and glanced up at Jason. "But then, who would have thought their past would come back to haunt them in such a terrible way?"

"What are you saying?" Jade lowered her pen and notebook, sighing heavily.  
"The exes are involved in all this?" Her heart began to sink and her despair only grew as Sinjin nodded his head. "Are Tori and Trina targets?" He shook his head, only adding to her confusion. "Then why are they involved?"

"It's all about revenge. Hurt Mr. Vega, make him suffer." Sinjin leaned forward, raising his hand in the form of a triangle over his face. His fingers folded and curled under his chin. "He's to watch as his family is tortured and eventually murdered. I'm not sure how long they want to carry on this charade, but I'm sure it won't last much longer."

Jade was trying her best to remain calm and keep her composure, but with every new piece of information Sinjin gave, the more nervous she became. "What else, Sinjin?" Sikowitz's eyes slanted and he folded his arms across his chest. "Right now the police chief is highly suspected. Tell me he's not involved, or if he is; it isn't huge."

Sinjin's eyes closed and he began to tremble. "I wish I could." Jade turned her head, glancing over her shoulder at Jason. The man was shaking with anger and grief, his eyes full of concern and a new level of anxiety she'd not seen before. He knew the nature of the situation; if the exes were involved, then that meant Ross was there. The only question on her mind, and likely his as well, was how involved?

"I'd like to say Ross himself is in charge, but he's only the boss at the facility." Jason drew a heavy breath into his nostrils. Rage burned like a fire in his eyes, and for a moment Jade feared he would explode. "His dad is more in control. Turning all of this into some sick, twisted revenge scheme against Mr. Vega for throwing his son in prison. Then trying to have the kid shanked…"

"His son deserved more than just a prison sentence," Jason remarked with a scary deep tone in his voice. Jade felt a sudden chill and curled her eyebrows together while looking at Jason. "Mr. Vega shouldn't have done what he did, but I won't say I don't blame him." Jason took a powerful step forward, his nostrils still flaring as the fire in his eyes intensified. "He held a fucking knife to her throat. He is the reason she can't sleep at night, he is the reason she was so scared to talk to anybody-to get close to anyone; to trust anyone. If nothing else, Samuel Ross would have deserved _anything_ he got coming to him."

"I hear you." Sinjin raised his hands and nodded. "Believe me, I do. The man's a bastard. He needs to be shot down just like his father; but right now they're both untouchable."

"We almost contacted him the other day," Sam muttered. Sinjin's eyebrows shot up. "We were questioning some of the exes. We got to Stephen, ran into Marcus; but decided not to talk to any of the others."

"Good thing you didn't. Ross and his father, along with Daniel, have surrounded themselves with Jerome's gang. If a police officer, an investigator, or anyone at all comes around asking questions…" He took a deep breath and raised his hand, pointing his thumb upwards and extending an index finger. "Boom. No questions asked." He jerked back his hand and Jade felt a cold chill rush through her body.

"How do we do this? What do we do?"

"My suggestion. If you want to get to any of them, you've got to go through the Knights first." Sinjin lowered his hand and shook his head. "If Jerome were out of the picture, Jesse could take over. If he took over, he'd reform the Knights…"

"But what would happen if he tried to pull them away?"

"That's what I'm nervous about. The minute he would take charge, he'd order the Knights to stop helping the bad guys. Yet he has no protection. He'd be killed in an instant. I'd probably be killed too just by association. Loose ends and whatnot."

Jason growled. "How about I go in and wipe them all out one by one?" Sinjin rolled his eyes and the others turned towards Jason.

"Look, I know you're angry. I know you're worried about Trina; and I think everyone here gets that. Still, let me say bravado is the _last_ thing that is going to help her or anyone." Sinjin narrowed his eyes and started to raise his voice, the quiver leaving in a moment's notice. "Besides, do you think Trina wants that? Do you honestly think she wants you to put yourself at risk like that? Even your involvement in this little group would probably make her very afraid something might happen to you."

Jason frowned, his shoulders falling as a sigh rolled away from his lips. "You're right. I'm just…I wish I could see her. I'm scared to lose her."

"Yeah, well she's not in a good place either mentally; and if she's going to survive this, she's going to need you at your best." Jason nodded and Jade chuckled, impressed with the confidence and urgency coming from Sinjin. "I mean it. You are the only piece of hope she has right now; the only thing she keeps going on about. 'Jason's still out there'." Sinjin leaned sideways and narrowed his eyes. "'He's got to be looking', 'I need to see him'."

"You're right…"

"So don't do something completely stupid. Don't try to get brave, don't go charging headfirst into a crowd of killers, thinking you can take them all on; because if you get yourself killed, she'll have nothing left to hold onto. Where Trina is concerned, you _are_ the only hope he has left in this world. So don't be a fucking soldier about this for once. Be brave, be smart, don't be stupid."

"I am a soldier, it's in my nature to want to do something. It's hard to wait, to be patient."

"You want to do something? Be a boyfriend. There's got to be something you can do without going crazy."

Jason nodded, his hands clenched tight and trembling. He started to swallow and held Sinjin's gaze. "I'll bear that in mind, and do my best." Jason breathed in deep and his eyes welled up with tears. "That said, do you think you could do something for me? If it's possible at all…"

"Name it." Sinjin shrugged. "I'll see what I can do."

At the facility, Trina struggled to remain strong. Every muscle in her body was on fire, and grief had overtaken her. Her heart was breaking and she was starting to lose any faith that she'd make it out alive.

Looking at Gary, she feared for his life. They kept him drugged so he wouldn't go on a hell bent rampage; because he was the one person that could devestate the whole operation if allowed to escape. Still, the druggings were taking a toll on him and wouldn't be long before it killed him. Trina hated to let her sister see someone else close to her die, but was felt powerless to stop it.

"You need to stop taking it," Tori whispered. Trina glanced over, shrugging and saying nothing in response. "Every time they come to beat us, every time they want to force Dad to watch us get beaten…stop volunteering yourself in my place. Please." Tori's eyes welled with tears and the girl shook her head. "I can't keep watching them strike you."

Trina remained perfectly still. Her back pressed against the wall, her bruised forearms folded across her stomach. She opened her busted lips, but only a raspy breath escaped. She looked towards her father, who'd been bludgeoned once more recently, but couldn't bring herself to feel any emotion.

The door slid open and Trina's eyes turned towards the two men walking in. "We've got delicious food for you," Sinjin said with a sad smile. Trina blinked twice and rolled her head to the right, letting it strike the wall. "Come get it, guys. You need to eat, you need to stay strong."

What was the point? She was going to die here. Her mother was gone, her stepfather's health was fading fast, and there wasn't a single person out there that was looking for them. Not with Hank Ross holding the police on a leash.

They were fucked as far as she could see.

"I'll get it," Tori said with a hushed voice. Sinjin opened the door and Tori walked over, taking the tray with a smile. "Oh look, warm soup! Trina, do you want the soup?" She looked over, her eyes dim and expression blank. Sinjin shook his head vigorously.

"Nah, why don't you give Trina the steak and grilled potatoes I prepared!"

"She won't eat, Sinjin." Tori rolled her eyes and sighed. "I keep trying, but the most I can get her to take is soup. At least she drinks it."

"I insist." He leaned forward, putting emphasis in his voice. "Let her have the steak, I think she will _love_ it."

"I'm telling you-"

"Trina gets the steak. She gets to eat the top, eat underneath, eat the sides." Trina raised an eyebrow and scoffed. Tori took the tray away with a groan and shook her head.

"Fine. I'll give daddy the soup. Asshole."

"Yeah, yeah, I deserve that."

"Fucking right you do. Traitor." Sinjin frowned and looked away as Jesse pat him on the shoulder. Tori set the plate down in front of Trina and gazed at her pleadingly. "Please eat, Trina. Please."

Trina raised her eyes up and looked at Sinjin. "Hey." Sinjin shrugged and started to turn. "If you feel uncomfortable eating in front of a camera or something, then _turn around_. Nobody cares if you eat with your back to the camera."

Tori rolled her head to the side and pointed out. "You can leave now Sinjin, we got the food!"

"Come on," Jesse replied, "they clearly don't want to talk to you."

Trina breathed in slowly and decided to turn around, scooting back a bit so she could lean her back against the metal bars. The cold steel caused her to tremble and shake, but she hardly cared. Her trembling fingers grasped at the steak and her eyes moved to her sister, who was trying to get David to eat the soup.

Picking up the steak, Trina caught a glimpse of something odd underneath it. Inhaling deep, she tore the tender steak with her fingers and raised a small piece to her hungry lips.

Glancing back at the plate, she studied the strange object. It was two pieces of wood pressed firmly together. She set the piece of steak down and picked up the wood to examine it. Tori turned her head and watched as Trina pulled the wood apart to reveal a tightly folded note.

She opened the note carefully, glad that it was out of view of the camera. When she saw the handwriting, it stole the breath from her lungs and caused her heart to skip a beat.

 _Trina,_

 _I hope this finds its way to you. I'm here, we're trying to find a way to get you out. My uncle, and even Tori's friends. I want you to know nothing will ever make me stop loving you, nothing will cause me to stop looking. You are my rock, you have been for so long. I came home, the first thing I wanted to do was find you. I can't wait until I can hold you close again. Nothing feels right without you. Please, know that we're not going to give up…I'm not going to give up. I…I want to spend our lives together, to start a family and all those other dreams that we've talked about in the past. Nothing will ever change that: Nobody will ever change that. I know you're scared, I know you're hurting, but don't give up. Whatever you do, please don't give up. Help is on the way. Stay strong, and I will be strong for you. We'll be together again Trina, I promise you that. I love you, always and forever. Also, Sinjin's going to put something in the potatoes, keep it safe; and preferably hidden along with this note. Wait for me, don't give up, stay strong. I love you. So much._

 _Love, Jason._

Trina's breathing grew heavy as she turned her eyes towards the potatoes. Her eyebrows started to furrow as her heart thrust itself into her throat. There was something glistening in the center of the grilled potatoes, an object that didn't appear edible.

She carefully pushed the potatoes away with her fingertips and froze when she saw a diamond ring with brilliant crystals having been hidden underneath them. Her hand flew to her mouth, catching a sob as tears fell from her eyes.

"Trina?" Tori nearly dropped the soup bowl and spoon in her hurrying to Trina's side. "What's wrong?" The plate fell to her lap and she caressed her face, weeping as a new feeling came over her.

Hope; for the first time since captivity she felt like she could hope for the future. Her tears were not tears of grief, but of the relief coursing through her.

The note would have to be destroyed of course, and she'd have to hide the ring somewhere safe so no one could find it. If Sinjin was helping Jason, it was possible he could take the ring and hold onto it.

"H-He's coming," Trina whispered through her tears. Tori looked down at the note, her eyebrows rising high as her arms moved around her sister. "He's coming to save us. He wants to be with me, even after all this, he still wants to be with me. Tori, oh Tori…"

She thought for a minute, expecting maybe they didn't have to destroy the note. She had a marker the captives gave to them in order for them to mark on the walls and floor if they wanted to play games; it was something Jesse convinced them to allow.

The Sharpee was shit, but for a piece of paper it would work.

She wrote with a quick and heavy hand, wanting to have the note ready to fold up and conceal for Sinjin to take and deliver once he returned to the dishes.

Taking a deep breath, Trina attempted to steady her writing. _"Jason, I am scared. I cannot believe Sinjin is even doing this. I find it hard to trust anyone."_ Her heartbeat slammed against her chest and she tried to sweep away her tears while her sister returned to feeding their father. _"I accept your ring, but am giving it to Sinjin to give to you for safe keeping. I-I can't believe you want to be with me, after everything. The things that have happened, Jason please forgive me. It hurts too much, but It means so much you'd be there for me. I love you with all my heart. I know it's not going to be easy, and while I accept your marriage proposal, it's going to take time. I know you understand, it's hard. I'm damaged goods, unclean…to think anyone would want to be with me after all this…please don't leave me. If you get us out, please don't leave me. I love you, Jason…I love you…"_

She wiped away her tears once more and quickly folded the note. When Sinjin returned to take the dishes, she hid the note under the plate for him to find. She didn't understand the part about Tori's friends coming to help as well, but as long as _someone_ was out there looking, it meant the world to her.

* * *

Communication from outside, it probably feels like a great bit of relief. What do you make of everything Sinjin told to the group? This offer of help, an olive branch extended, and maybe the sisters can feel a little bit of hope that _somebody_ is trying to save them and that they aren't alone.


	15. Downtime

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 15 (Downtime)

"Thanks for coming with us today, Jason." Jason shrugged at her. Jade hadn't gotten any downtime at all with Beck or the others since the Vegas went missing and she needed to destress; but remembering Hayley's attack followed by Sinjin telling them the bad guys wanted to capture them and kill them in front of the family members as torture, she didn't feel comfortable by herself without some sort of protection.

"I've got nothing better to do, but I'm a little concerned as to why you're insisting on me joining you and your boyfriend on a date night."

"Well, you can sit somewhere else. You don't have to be right up on us or anything." Beck needed to destress as well. This left field work for the others. Sam had taken Cat to observe some key members of the Black Knights that Sinjin mentioned, while Andre and Robbie were staking out some of the exes. It was their hope that they'd get more intel by following from a distance.

In the meantime, Jade and Beck were going to enjoy a romance drama; which Jason probably wouldn't enjoy. She had to admit she was curious to see how he'd react. Still, the downtime was going to be great.

"We don't have a lot of time, you know. The longer we play around, the more chances something's going to happen." Jason had the right level of urgency, and Jade agreed; but Sinjin told them to take a day off because he and Jesse were going to keep some of the others busy and not let anything happen to Trina, Tori, David or Gary. "Do we trust Sinjin, anyway? I know he said he sent my note, and he gave us all that info; but I'm still skeptical…I'm sure Trina is too."

"It's okay to be skeptical, but he is helping us." Jade took a deep breath and turned towards him. "Look, the movie is just a little over two hours long. After that, we'll get right back to the investigation. Everyone's in place, we'll just need them to fill us in when they're done with their assignments."

"I need to be out there, not babysitting two people on a date." Beck glanced over and chuckled while Jason kicked a rock off the nearby curb.

"Look at it this way Jase, you're guarding two lead investigators," Beck replied smoothly. Jason grumbled something about Sikowitz being the lead, but then smiled politely

Meanwhile, Andre and Robbie were eating donuts in Andre's navy blue mercury sedan. "We're almost like true and blue police officers now," Robbie said with a laugh. Andre rolled his eyes and peered out the windshield. The first person they were staking was Stephen, but he wasn't doing much.

Stephen was holed up in a McDonalds with a big mac. His right side was facing the window, and Andre was able to see through clearly enough. He was disgusted by the Big Mac, mostly because he hated McDonalds. "Telling you Rob, the donuts are the closest I'm getting to that unhealthy."

"McDonalds really isn't that bad. They have a few healthy items."

"It's fast food, fast food is the most unhealthy shit you can touch. The only thing I like about them is their coffee, and that is it." He tapped his thumb on the steering wheel and narrowed his eyes at Stephen. "I'm not sure what they're hoping we'll find watching this guy. According to Sinjin, he and Marcus are the low men on the totem pole."

They'd finished 'staking out' Marcus a little over an hour ago. All he was doing was drinking beer on his front porch as though he had no life at all. "Danny and Ross are the ones I want to stake. They're the big guys it seems."

"Apparently Jesse is with Jerome at Ross's place. There's no need to be there. Daniel is somewhere."

"He's somewhere, it's just more like he didn't tell anyone his location, so we're stuck watching the small beans." Andre sighed and raised a hand to his forehead. "I'm still hung up on that last night, Rob." Robbie frowned and turned his gaze down. "We let her down. Tori. We really did…"

"Is that why you didn't go see Ian with Beck and Jade?" Andre cast a sideways glance and let out a small grunt. He didn't want to admit to being jealous, but it was the truth of the matter. He had a crush on Tori in the past, but had been too afraid to act on it. He didn't mind that she had a boyfriend, but after the way Jason reacted them, he knew Ian was going to be just as judgmental.

"We should have been better friends. The way we've been, I can barely look Jason in the eyes."

"I see."

"You think I want to face _Tori's_ boyfriend? Fuck that." They all sinned in ways that none of them should have. Andre didn't blame Tori one bit for pushing them out; even though she did it that night to try and save them, he knew she meant every word she said. "I couldn't even tell we were upsetting her that night."

"Is that why you're so adamant? You were one of the first ones after Jade to get passionate about finding the Vegas. You feel guilty?"

"Pretty much. I also get why Jason wants to rush it, so do I. This stakeout thing is pissing me off." He extended his arm, pointing out his windshield at Stephen. "Like this motherfucker, munching on a damn hamburger. He's not doing anything, he's not leading us anywhere; and we have Sinjin, so why the hell are we bothering with this?"

"Research." Robbie furrowed his brow and looked at Stephen for a minute before jotting down some notes. "We're studying them, trying to get an idea of where they go regularly and what they do. That way we can figure out the best time to go in and grab the Vegas securely."

"Yeah well, if Jason and Jade decide to race guns blazing, I'm joining them."

Robbie started to laugh, nodding his head in response. "I think we all would. It would be suicide, but yeah we all would." Robbie tilted his head and tapped the end of the pen on the page. "I'd do anything to redeem myself. We've all fucked up, how could we not rescue them? If we rescue them, maybe they'll forgive us…"

"Or maybe they're going to find it harder to trust anybody because of what they've gone through with the kidnappers, even their rescuers. Tori already says she doesn't trust us, or if she does, her sister and parents certainly don't." He ran his finger under his nose, breathing in heavily. "I'm surprised all we've done, their parents haven't done or said anything to us…given what it sounds like happened to the exes."

"That's not necessarily true." Robbie ran his hand over his neck, averting his gaze. Andre raised an eyebrow, studying the man's avoidant posture for a bit before nudging him sharply. Robbie jerked back and turned his eyes sideways.

"Got something to say?"

"Yeah…the stalking I did was bad enough, Mr. and Mrs. Vega warned me to cut it out. Then what happened to Trina." He bowed his head and swallowed hard. "What I did to her. They figured out it was me, and well they came after me. That puppet got destroyed in the process, and Holly injected me with something that made me sick for a while."

Andre shuddered at the thought and remembered a time Robbie was sick with a virus for a few weeks. Nobody knew what was wrong with him and worried he might be dying.

"Do you think they'll forgive us?"

"Hard to say." Even their rescuing them wasn't a guarantee the Vegas-or just the sisters alone-would forgive or trust them for a long time. That said, the parents were obvious; they would never trust the group. Their trying to save them may help; but Andre suspected they would all just have to start over again. "We've done a lot to them that we should never have done. Just because we save them doesn't mean they're going to automatically want us around. Who knows?"

He was partially jealous that Jason got to send a note; but he understood why it could only happen that one time. Sinjin didn't want to arouse suspicion, so sending multiple secret notes would be counterproductive. What he would have liked to have done was send Tori a letter saying they didn't care if she was into the performance arts or something different, and that they would like to be friends with her regardless.

Andre took another look inside the McDonalds and groaned when he saw Stephen frantically wiping some ketchup from his shirt. "Can we _please_ move on to another person?" He'd much rather be checking out the higher profile people, as he called them; this just meant Ross and Danny. "Who cares how guarded they may be, I'm sick of watching nothing."

"I hear ya, but I think we should do what Mr. Sikowitz told us to do. It's different now, man. He's not our teacher anymore, he's our boss. If he lets us go, that's it, we're done."

Andre grumbled, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. Robbie was right. Sikowitz didn't want to put them at risk or in danger, but more importantly he didn't want to put the Vegas in more danger. If they did something that could jeopardize everything, Sikowitz could and likely would kick them off the investigation indefinitely.

He hated the limitation. "I only hope Sam and Cat are making more progress. I doubt they are, but man, something's gotta give."

Sam and Cat had found the elusive Hayley, and it was tempting to go make an arrest, but Sikowitz didn't want them doing that at the moment. Hayley was busy talking with a man that Cat hardly recognized.

He was tall and had spiky hair as black as night. His eyes were deep and face bore more of a brooding look than even Beck's. The man had dark clothing with a skull insignia on the t-shirt, and chains going from his belt to his jean pockets. "That guy scares me," Cat said with a meek tone.

Sam slid her hand along the steering wheel of her car, narrowing her eyes and flattening her lips together. "He should." She moved her gaze sideways. "That's Jerome Klein, current leader of the Black Knights." Cat pursed her lips and watched as Jerome slid his hand along Hayley's shoulder. He was looking down at the bandages on her hand and shaking his head.

"Have you done research into the gang?"

"I have." Sam pulled her hand away from the steering wheel and leaned back slowly. Cat looked to the doorway of the café balcony where the couple were seated, surprised that they were even out in the open. "The Knights were formed in the late 1980s by Roger Miller originally as a motorcycle enthusiast club." When she didn't recognize the name, she looked towards her friend and waited for Sam to elaborate. "Roger's right hand was Ralph Klein."

"Jerome and Jesse's dad?"

"Yes. Ralph had other ideas for the gang, things that Mr. Miller never wanted for the club. Eventually there were factions supporting both men, more supported Roger…this led to a bit of a civil war within the group, one that literally tore brother against brother."

"Literally?"

"Late 1990s, early 2000s, Jerome was the older brother and sided with his father. Jesse, clearly even now, always envisioned the Knights with Roger's ideal vision of remaining pure and good; the Knights were never going to be another stereotypical 'outlaw biker band'."

She could see the struggle, and was beginning to understand it. Ralph wanted to bring in illegal trade to the group, becoming an official gang. "So Ralph believed in illicit trades? Drug, gambling and stuff?"

"Yes." Sam snorted and Cat could see a look of worry flash in her friend's eyes. "Gambling no, but there's another issue that I've let Beck and Sikowitz know about." Cat furrowed her brow, watching in silence as Sam looked out her window. "Well first off, the Black Knights deal in drug trade, the first thing Ralph wanted to introduce. They sell and buy guns within the black market and whoever will buy."

She veered off from that point, appearing to hesitate. Cat leaned forward, interested and curious. Sam curled a finger over her chin and shook her head slowly. "Well? Sam? What is it? Do we…do we trust Jesse? He and Sinjin _are_ a part of this."

"The faction that stuck around for Roger still follows Jesse. There isn't as much infighting and most of the Knights would likely follow Jesse's word; it appears that the majority are afraid of Jerome…since Ralph's passing Jerome has cracked down a lot on his members. Violently. Everyone's afraid to speak, from what my sources are saying."

"Wow…what happened to Roger?"

"Ralph killed him and took over." It was clear what sources Sam was using, so Cat wasn't curious about that. Jesse and Sinjin probably filled her in on everything, and the woman most likely found a few Knights who were loyalists to Jesse. "Fortunately for us, the majority of the Knights follow Jesse and would see Jerome removed, unfortunately nobody knows how to act." Sam narrowed her eyes and motioned out the window. "And this seems to be the first time Jerome has actually showed his face in public. That alone makes him vulnerable…so honestly, I can't believe he's here."

"You know all this, the police must know too."

"Jesse confirmed the Knights are working with the Police Chief, Cat. Jerome has more protection right now than anybody than the president, almost." Cat figured this would have to be the reason he was out in public. Bravado, knowing nobody was going to try anything.

Her heart began to sink as she recalled Sam's hesitation. "Sam? You're hiding something. You stopped for a minute when talking about the things the Knights were doing. What else is there that you told Beck and Mr. Sikowitz? You know we're all a part of the same investigation."

She'd been around the block enough to know when Sam was trying to protect her by keeping stuff from her; but this wasn't the time for that. She understood most people saw her as this meek and cautious girl, possibly frightened at her own shadow. She was just as concerned as everyone else about the Vegas, and had as much fight in her to let the worries and 'meekness' subside.

"Don't worry about protecting me. I'm in this fully just like everyone else."

Sam exhaled and leaned to the side. Cat braced herself, anticipating and holding her breath for whatever was to come. "Slave trade. Granted it may be sex trade, but Jerome's started selling people." Cat's heart was shattered and she released her breath in the form of a gasp.

It was horrible news, and something that made the investigation more urgent. In her heart she feared for Tori and for Trina, because she knew what it could mean. Even if the leads wanted them dead too, Jerome could carry that sway and send the two girls out.

"Oh my god." Her hands began to tremble and she folded them over her stomach. "We have to hurry." The nausea started to rise up her throat and frenzied tears formed in her eyes. "Thank you for telling me, Sam. Do the others know?"

"They will. Jesse's the sole reason Trina and Tori haven't been shipped away; but the hold and influence he and Sinjin have won't last forever. Sikowitz understands the urgency, and we've told Jonah as well as Robbie's father, so both are trying to work on investigations. Jonah still has to talk his superiors into this, but once the FBI's on board it's still going to be difficult to start an open investigation without the Chief ordering the family killed."

"So as much as we have hope…"

It seemed like every step forward, they were forced two steps back. It was troubling, and she was growing more fearful by the minute that they wouldn't make it in. Each day she started to agree with Jade and Jason that they should just 'storm the fort' so to speak, but even they agreed that was far too risky and dangerous.

"It seems we have no choice but to trust Sinjin and Jesse. I won't condone criminal acts, certainly not the way I was when I was a teenager, but even I'm beginning to question whether or not to allow Jesse to take out his own brother…"

"Yeah. Doesn't sound like he'd do that, but everyone's getting desperate."

In the cell, Trina tended to Gary, trying to nurse him as much as she could. He was regaining whatever health he could since Jesse somehow convinced people to stop drugging him. She still worried for his health, fearing the constant drugging would kill him.

David hardly spoke anymore, even less than she did. All he could do was stare at them, and Trina didn't know if he felt guilty, ashamed, or something more. Tori stood with her back to the wall and her eyes to the metal door. "I always knew it was bad," she said, "What mom and dad did, how protective they were. I didn't really know _how_ bad."

Trina exhaled, remembering the actions their parents had done in the past. "I tried to keep most of it from you, Tori. I'm sorry…" Tori's lips pursed and the girl unfolded her arms. Trina didn't look up from Gary, washing his arms and neck with a wet rag Sinjin provided them with. "I didn't want their actions to influence you. It was hard even for me, I knew it wasn't right…"

The only thing she truly told Tori about because she _needed_ someone to talk to was that her father had ordered someone to beat Ross up in prison. She didn't realize the severity of it; that her dad wanted the man murdered.

It scared her how far her father would have gone, and at her expense. Now they all seemed to be paying for it. "I won't lie, I've thought about doing the same things. I don't know how I remained stable."

She wasn't stable, but she wasn't as bad off as she knew she could have been. Her love and concern for her little sister had always kept her conscious of her actions. "Hurting people that hurt us isn't right. It's never felt right."

Like Tori, she didn't know every detail of what her parents had done, they'd stayed away to try and keep them safe apparently. It was getting harder to do, and while their father had calmed in recent years; it seemed Tori's friends had been starting to reignite the fire.

Tori looked at David, her glossy eyes filling with a type of sorrow Trina hadn't seen in the girl, a helplessness she only wished she could remove. "I'm scared Trina. Dad won't talk to us, Gary's in bad shape…and what can one person do against an army?"

"I don't know." The captors couldn't constantly be wherever this place was, could they? Trina hugged herself and grimaced. "When I talked to _him_ …" She could hardly say his name, much less think about him, without feeling the urge to vomit. "He revealed to me his dad's the one that called the shots, and said to gather all the men who our parents hurt. The Chief of Police, Tori…he's the one in charge of all this."

David's gaze slid over and he began to tremble with guilt and anxiety. Trina looked down at Gary, slowly running her hand along the man's forearm. His eyes were open and searching the area for a minute before locking with hers. She gave him a sad smile and pat his wrist.

"So what's the endgame?" Tori started to whine, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "What does the man want done?"

"I was told, he wanted Dad to see his family dead." She breathed heavily, slowly glaring at the speakerphone and speaking low. "He wants us all dead, and to leave Dad for last. Dad isn't meant to die until we're all gone. We're to be tortured before him, forced to be kept alive so he can see us suffer."

Trina sighed and rose slowly. "Until then." She balled up her hands and felt a tear running down her dried cheek. "We have no choice but to wait for either rescue or death. Whichever comes first." Part of her wanted to die, to let all of the pain and grief end; but she had to hold on for Tori and for Jason.

* * *

So we're seeing a little more of the feelings going on for the other friends in this. From Andre's resolve, Robbie's remorse and then we see even Cat's bolstering herself. We see Jerome for the first time, and learn of the great infighting going on with the Black Knights: Is that suggesting a weakness in the gang? Something's gotta give.


	16. Meeting of Powers

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 16 (Meeting of Powers)

The office was filled with enough anxious energy to make even the most stalwart nervous, and for Jade it gave her an overwhelming sense of urgency and relief. Today was a meeting of alliances, the connections they were making had agreed to come talk to Sikowitz about the case.

Cat was there doing her duty as secretary and was going to draft up a transcript like she often did; it was nice to see her doing something and taking an interest in it. Even Sam though she had a future as a court reporter.

Robbie would be coming with his father, hoping to fill the man on everything he could. Sam was gone, meeting with Jonah in order to brief him and his connections before guiding them to the location. Andre and Beck were already present, seated on either side of her on the couch.

Jason was talking with his uncle at the desk about possibly getting some assistance from the military; but it sounded like Sikowitz didn't think the military would have much of a reason to get involved.

While they were discussing that matter, Jesse was at a table in the center, leaning over it and making some markings to a sheet of paper that appeared to be blueprints of some kind. "Finally," she whispered, "All the contacts have agreed to come by."

"And a couple others." Beck leaned sideways, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She blinked twice, curious who else would be joining in this conference. Then it hit her, Beck had already mentioned his family's disapproval with the Chief's continued orders to ignore the disappearance of a major homicide detective's family; and she knew just about everyone in his family was or had been a part of the LAPD.

"Your parents are coming?" Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes grew wide as Beck's mouth turned up into a smile.

"Well, my mother as well as my dad's father." She almost fell out of the chair wanting to scream out for joy. His paternal grandfather and mother were likely the best people inside the actual police department to help. His grandfather was a retired Police Commander, well known for his handling of the police force during his many years on the force, and his mother was currently one of the Police Captains who was in charge of a prescinct with some of the higher numbers of arrests made.

Beck scratched his cheek and made a motion towards his boss. "I haven't been able to tell Sikowitz yet since he's in the middle of talking to Jason. My mother texted me about five minutes ago that they were on their way…"

"How much do they know about what's been going on?" She was okay with him talking to his family about it, since she trusted them as much as he did; but she hadn't ever thought to ask just how much of the case they knew. "I figure you haven't told them much because you can't really talk about a case to outsiders, but…why do they want to come all of a sudden?"

"Mom and Dad have recently been upset with the Chief's inaction, and I might have let it slip that our investigation was considering him as a prime suspect. Grandpa, of course, is furious."

Jade understood how the man could be furious. Beck's grandfather, Lance Oliver, always talked about how proud he was of the police force and how strong he helped make them during his tenure.

More than that, however, he personally trained Hank Ross when the Chief was a young recruit. Surely there could be no greater insult than knowing someone you trained was potentially involved in a high profile case as well as corruption of the very department you helped bolster.

"This is going to be interesting to watch. It feels like something's finally going to get done."

"Maybe. It's still a process, but at least this time we have our allies on board." Beck turned his head upright and stared at the table for a moment while the silence filled the air. His chest expanded slowly and Jade smiled as his hand gently pat her shoulder. "Have you checked out Jesse's blueprint map? It's basically the floorplans and layout of where the family's being held."

"I haven't seen it yet. I'll go look." He drew his arm from her shoulders and she moved over to the table. Looking over Jesse's shoulder, the man flinched and turned towards her. "You must have gone through a great deal of trouble to get that, Jesse." He shrugged and returned his focus to the paper.

"Not really. All the key people have this. My brother and myself, Ross and his father, Daniel, Stephen and Marcus." She furrowed her brow, annoyed that all four of the exes-five counting Jerome-were leading this mess.

Jesse straightened himself and raised a hand to his jaw, sliding his fingers under his chin. "As you can see, there's a basement. Which would be the easiest place to get into if you're trying to sneak in."

As he spoke, the door opened and people began entering. Jade didn't notice at first until they started to surround the table, each listening to the explanation of Jesse's layout. "That is of course, if you need to sneak in for whatever reason-I think it would be better to go in without tipping the guys off."

Jade leaned forward, studying the map. There were multiple floors to this facility, and it didn't appear to be much larger than a house. "It's like a tower," she stated. Jesse nodded slowly.

"Something like that." There were five floors, not counting the basement. The ground floor was the largest, and the building seemed to rise with each floor shrinking a small amount in size. "It's some family mansion or condo that Chief Ross owns. Some sort of shit." Jade raised her eyebrows and watched him point to the third floor. "The family is being held on that floor in some kind of soundproof room." He rolled his hand in a circular motion, squinting one eye and groaning. "Have you seen the movie _Panic Room_?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. Why?"

"The room is kind of like that." He pushed his finger along to the very back edge of the third floor. "They're tucked away into the back corner." He slid his finger to the top floor and raised his eyebrows high. "Ross is tucked away in his father's office. When everyone's at the facility, this is where he's going to be. Rarely will he be anywhere else."

"Why is that?"

"He prefers as little involvement as possible, I guess." Jesse scoffed, the disgust in his voice betraying the calm of his statement. "Unless it involves messing with Trina, getting under her skin." Jade frowned and looked at Jason, watching the muscles in his body tense up. "Truth of the matter, I can't tell whether he thinks his father is insane or if he's just as insane as the man. He's a monster one way or another."

Sikowitz seemed to stretch, locking his wrists behind his back and breathing in deep. "How involved is he? Why are all these people involved? Sinjin seemed to imply his father is the one calling all the shots."

"He is." Jesse looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Far as I can tell, Ross keeps himself locked away up there and refers to his father at times with irritation. It's anybody's guess why; but I know my brother told the Chief about some of the exes, so the Chief instructed Ross and Jerome to gather the exes hurt by the Vega parents and get them involved one way or another."

"Are you suggesting that they're being forced?"

"No, at least I don't think so." Jesse paced to the right, still facing the others. "I know Daniel is in on this because he wants to get back at the Vegas, and so is Stephen. Marcus, I _think_ could care less-he's more pissed at David. Jerome is having fun with it, but his role is more using my Knights as guard."

Jade took a step back, not wanting this conversation to keep from the introductions of the key contacts. When she looked back, she was startled by the full office.

Standing nearest to them was Sam and Jonah, who had two official looking investigators with them. One man and one woman, dressed in suited outfits. "These are my superiors," Jonah remarked casually while turning to the pair. "Agents Beckett and Harding." Beck raised an eyebrow at the woman, chuckling once. "They're here to gather information and decide what needs to be done with their agents. If any course of action is needed…"

Harding looked to be the superior. He was an older man with a face that resembled actor Tom Bosley. His grey hair was short and in curls, and a pair of dark shades rested on the top of his nose.

Robbie and his father stood beside the group. Thomas was a bit taller than his son, and looked almost exactly like the boy but older and more mature. Along with Thomas was a woman whom Jade barely recognized. She was an elder woman with wavy grey hair and a stern expression. "Who do you have with you?" Sikowitz asked while turning towards Thomas. The man paused, his lips parting. "Ah Judge Quinn, I apologize I didn't recognize you at first."

"It is alright," The woman remarked, "I am here to see what all the fuss is about."

Thomas nodded slowly. "I was shooting a game of pool with an old friend at her son's business. I may have mentioned my son was working on a case involving the Vegas disappearance and involvement of the LAPD."

"I cannot say I'm a fan of Chief Ross. He's only been Police Chief for a few short years, and he's done less more harm for this city than he has done good." Before much else could be said, three more entered the office. Jade recognized the tall man with thin grey hair framing his ears and the back of his head, along with the woman about a foot shorter than he was. She had long brown hair and a piercing sharp gaze.

The third person was a bit more of a surprise. He was an older gentleman with broad shoulders and a heavy face. His arms were folded neatly against his chest and he looked ready for a fight. Beck stepped forward, expanding his arms. "Mom, Grandpa, how are you? Who is this with you?"

"Colonel Abraham Wallace," the man answered firmly. "I ran with Detective Malone, and I'm curious why the police have not investigated his disappearance along with the family being captive."

"We know him well," Mrs. Oliver said, "We put word that we were coming to take part in this investigation and he took it upon himself to join." Jason saluted the man in greeting.

"Well now that everyone is here." Jesse faced the group and raised his hand partially. "I will answer the burning question. Chief Hank Ross is not only involved, he's in charge of the entire operation. But I think some of you knew that already, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now. Let's move past that."

Lance Oliver growled and took a small step forward, his face twisting with disgust and anger. "If I could get my hands on that man. Who are the key people? Why can no one act right now? What's your role in this?"

"My brother is in charge of the gang involved, and my best friend is the chef in charge of preparing the meals for the Vegas. We are the best chance of getting those people out alive." Jesse snapped his fingers and started to grin. "But one thing I can do for you…Jerome's right hand with the Knights, and top enforcer, is his girlfriend. Hayley Ferguson."

"We've heard of her," replied Camille Oliver replied, "she's known throughout the police department." The woman leaned her head back and Jesse gave her a fervent nod.

"Handle it delicately and you can arrest her without the Chief or anyone else thinking it's related to the Vegas." Camille raised her eyebrows slowly and the grin on her face spread.

"I've been wanting to arrest that tart for a few years now. She's been causing my department a great deal of trouble."

"Well here's the thing." Jesse swept his hand towards Jade. "Jade here was recently attacked by Hayley for what is assumed revenge for something happening at a karaoke bar a few years back." Jade shivered as she recalled the memory, shaking her head slowly. "Haley also implied responsibility for the murder of her father and the disappearance of Tara Ganz."

"If you have anything more concrete…"

"I do. I was with my brother when she showed him the location of Tara's corpse." Jade's jaw fell open and Jesse moved his hands behind his back, raising an eyebrow at the stunned group. "In the Jans landfill on the outskirts of town. I'm sure you might find some physical evidence under Tara's nails, since Hayley talked about how made she was Tara fought back and scratched her." He shrugged as if it were nothing and moved towards the table. "Just say a few teenagers found the body and you've got yourself a case…one less Dark Knight as I call them."

"'Dark Knight'?"

"Yes. The people who follow my brother's way." He leaned over the table, sliding his hands along the edge and sighing heavily. "If I had it my way, we'd be a group of law abiding motorcycle enthusiasts."

"Okay." Thomas leaned forward, his eyes scanning the map along with the two FBI agents. "You're on the inside. Tell us why we can't start making arrests? Aside from Hayley for an unrelated murder?"

"The Vegas are essentially hostages. You make an open investigation, arrests of any sort and you will lose that family. The Chief is prepared to kill them all the minute they're discovered. You have to get the family out first. Then open the investigation."

The group fell quiet and Jesse shook his hand in the air. "I know it sounds backwards. If the judge can write a warrant and you can get a task force ready, you should be able to get them out safe." His expression tensed and he sucked in a heavy breath of air. "Of course you have the problem my brother poses."

"What do you suggest?"

"We don't have time on our side, but I need to take control of the Knights. It's the only way. If I can take them from under him, I can order them away from the facility so that you can get inside. If I can't, you won't be getting anywhere close to the key people or that family. The gang must be removed first."

"So we're running an infiltration?" Jason asked with a widening grin. Jade couldn't help but to chuckle, though she was just as eager. "A raid, maybe?" Jason cracked his knuckles. Jesse glanced up to him and then towards the others, shrugging in reply.

"Honestly, as much as I hate to say it, it may be best. If you want to make arrests, you should go in on a day when everyone is at the facility. Don't give them a chance. If you're just looking to get the family out first with minimal issue, then do so when there is no one there."

Sikowitz grunted, his eyes scanning across his former students. "Is there ever a chance of that? The second part?" Jesse frowned and shook his head, giving Jade a moment of dismay.

"The Black Knights are the guard. They surround the Chief's home mansion, they're stationed at both Ross's house and Danny's house. Then of course, Jerome himself very rarely comes out from where he's located…right at the facility with an entire array of Knights roaming the facility. So with them, there will always be someone present."

"Shit." Sikowitz crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Well whatever it takes for you to take over the Knights and order them away, do it and do it fast."

"Understood, sir." Jesse reached into his pocket, clearing his throat while moving his gaze towards Jason. "Also, I just remembered. I was told to give this to you." Jason's eyebrow rose and Jade leaned over, looking in earnest as Jesse handed a folded sheet of marked up paper to the man.

Jason unfolded it carefully, his fingers trembling and crinkling the paper. "Trina." His voice was soft and quiet, her name seemed to roll from his tongue as his eyes started to glaze over. "She says she's scared, but she got my note and everything." Jason cupped a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Oh yeah, this too." Jesse continued to dig in his pocket, grunting and looking down at it. "It's in here." Jason lowered the note and his entire body shook like a mountain ready to crumble. "She wants you to hold onto it until they get out." He removed a small, glistening ring and extended it to Jason with a smile. "So you've given her a little hope of rescue and something concrete in the future for her to hold on to."

Jason took the ring carefully, his breathing trembled and he stared to choke on his words. "I-I…"

"That's the best thing you could have possibly done for her right now. Just saying." Jason smiled gently. "Sinjin told me how much you want to charge in, guns blazing. Hopefully you realize now how futile that would be…let us handle thing from within, that's the best way you're going to be able to save that family."

"From within, huh?"

"Yes. The exterior may be strong, but the interior is weak." Jesse ran his hand along his chin, stroking it gently while examining Jason. "Tell me, you're probably well attuned to fitness with your martial arts and all that. What happens to the human body when the interior has a bunch of problems?"

"It starts to shut down."

"Exactly. Right now all that any of these people have is anger and poison, it's going to their head. Their ego is also full, they think they can't and won't get caught, and that makes them cocky. Let me do my work, and I can almost guarantee you'll get your people."

"And your brother? How do you plan to unseat him, so to speak?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I have my ideas. I need to get Hayley and the big oaf out of the way first."

"Oaf?"

"The guy that was supposed to kill Ross when he was in prison. He's also one of Jerome's trusted confidantes...but his loyalty is easily swayed." Jade scrunched her nose and cocked her head as Jesse took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before finishing his statement. "Obviously. Why else would Ross be alive and not murdered in prison?"

* * *

So all of the big-wigs are on board. The next step surely won't be easy, but at least there's a plan.


	17. Jesse's Plot

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 17 (Jesse's Plot)

"I can't believe Sikowitz is condoning this." Jade stood beside Beck on a hill overlooking the landfill Jesse mentioned. "I'm also impressed Jesse set this up." One of Jesse's followers was in a college environment club and at the urging of Jesse, agreed to host a field trip to the landfill and search the area told where Tara's remains would likely be found.

"Mr. Sikowitz is condoning it to legitimize the whole person stumbles across remains." Beck uncrossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against a tree. "Jesse got his people to organize it so no one will say they were put up to it by the police." He moved his head to the side. "Of course the poor sap that finds the remains will probably be scarred for a while, but that's the price we have to pay."

"It seems like a lot." Hell, Sinjin and Jesse were even being given immunity for helping; but neither man asked for it. "I get that Mr. Sikowitz wants to make everything seem legitimate, but Jesse told us where to find the remains." It wasn't that she was nervous or uncomfortable, she just didn't want to give someone the horror of stumbling upon a dead body.

Still Jesse had his plan down to a system. He didn't want to give Jerome any reason to suspect he was to blame for the loss of some of his top people. "What happens once the remains are found, Beck?"

"Mom moves her people in to arrest Hayley once the lab results come in." She nodded and watched the college students examining every item of the landfill. Steadying herself with a deep breath, she tried to prepare herself for a discovery of bones.

It was unsettling too. In the past she was all about the creepy and the macabre, but it had mostly been for show; there had never been a time she truly wanted to see genuine human remains. Even worse, it weighed heavily on her mind that these human remains would belong to someone she once personally knew-if only for a short while.

"I hope we can give Tara some justice at least." Beck smiled at her and draped an arm around her waist. She relaxed her muscles and leaned against him, pressing her head onto his shoulder. "I wonder what Jesse's going to do once Hayley and…what's that guy's name?"

"Rocky?"

"Oh yeah, him." Evidently the gang called the guy Rocky because he was 'dumb as rocks'. She didn't understand the purpose of insulting nickname in such a situation, but she wasn't one to criticize. "I wonder what he'll do once the two are out of the way. How is he going to unseat Jerome and why do those two have to be removed first?"

"The way I understand it as he explained, he's also one of Jerome's top. Simply because he's Jerome's brother and the guy wants to keep him close, but Hayley and Rocky are above him. Hayley, because she's the girlfriend and Rocky because he's essentially Jerome's muscle. With the two out of the picture, Jesse's in place to take over once Jerome is dealt with."

Pursing her lips, she glanced upwards to the clouds in the sky. A cold chill made her tug the flaps of her jacket around her body. "I wonder how he's going to deal with Jerome."

"I wouldn't look too much into that one." Beck furrowed his brow and looked off to the left, studying a couple people arguing over an aluminum can. "It isn't important to us how Jesse takes over, but that he takes over the Knights and gets them away from the people of interest."

"Yeah, I hope whatever his plan is that he can do it." She worried what would happen when he started the process of pulling the Knights away. Surely the Chief wouldn't be happy. "If the Chief orders Jesse arrested once he starts pulling the gang away…"

"FBI is above Chief Ross at this point. Jesse's a protected witness right now, and so is Sinjin. Not to mention Robbie's dad has been buttering up the Governor, and is poised to talk the man into granting a governor's pardon to Jesse in the event that the Chief actually does order his arrest." It felt good knowing their allies had plans and backup plans ready, but she felt they needed to prepare for any event.

"Given what we know of the Chief, he may not actually move to arrest Jesse." Beck raised an eyebrow an Jade turned towards him. "He might just kill him."

"Well, he'd have to go through the Knights loyal to Jesse, I suppose. There are more loyal to him than there are Jerome, so I suspect the Chief would come upon some difficulty trying to get the man murdered when he becomes as guarded as his brother."

"I guess so." Jesse sounded determined as hell when he informed them he had a plan and was ready to take action. His action was deemed to be swift, or so it would appear.

Jade took a step forward, breathing shakily as Beck's arm slid away from her. Her eyes focused on someone that was poking what looked to be a rock underneath a large pile of dirt and trash. They grabbed a spade and began tearing away at the dirt.

She grabbed the collar of her coat and held her breath as the dirt and trash fell away like an avalanche. A scream soon followed, ear piercing and echoing into the air. Staring back at them, like something out of a horror novel, was the skeletal remains of Tara Ganz; grinning as though waiting for the world to discover her.

Beck's exhale could be felt on the back of her neck, making her hair stand on end. "So it begins," he said with a hushed whisper.

Jesse rolled his eyes as Sinjin followed after him, speaking with a swift and quiet voice. "I'm your best friend, why won't you tell me what you're planning?" He stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to face his friend. Sinjin was worried, and he had a right to be.

"The less you know, the less you're involved, which means the more protected you are if something goes wrong." Jerome may have been the type to shoot first and ask questions later, but he was no idiot. If he got wind of Jesse's plan, he'd immediately assume Sinjin knew about it because of their friendship.

Sinjin, brave as he was for going to find help, was not good under pressure. The last thing Jesse wanted was Jerome pressing Sinjin to spill everything. "Trust me. Just focus on preparing meals and continue to follow along. Things are going to move quickly if everything goes as planned."

The man took a breath and dropped his gaze for a moment before glancing back. "Okay Jess. Tell me where you want me and what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

"Great. I need you to lay low for a bit. Hang tight in the kitchens. I'll tell you when I need you." Sinjin nodded and hurried off to his post. Jesse watched with a smile and looked up to the ceiling. "Sasha, watch over us. I lost you, don't let me lose my best friend too." He clenched his fists and shut his eyes, his breath trembled as the image of a beautiful auburn haired woman came to his mind.

Flashes of her laying in a pool of blood came to his mind, and his holding her in his arms with his wails erupting into the sky. A shadow fell across him in his memory, and he could see his father's sadistic and mocking grin. His eyelids opened partially, white-hot rage burning within them. He recalled the memory of standing over his father's lifeless body and his muscles tensed.

"I won't lose myself this time." He grabbed a recording device and walked towards a room Rocky was patrolling. "Not this time. This isn't about revenge, it's about a cause, about doing what's right." His greatest fear was doing something that Sasha would frown upon, but this seemed to be that grey area where he couldn't be sure if she'd approve or disapprove.

It had to be done. To save the Vega girls. He could still remember when he was younger, seeing Jerome bringing Trina home one day, only to take another girl on a date the next. It wasn't long before he realized the two were sisters.

What Jerome didn't realize was he was the reason they found out. He sent an anonymous letter at Sasha's request, and it ended with the two girls cutting it off harshly.

Jesse took a deep breath to prepare himself, then knocked firmly on the door. It opened within minutes, and Rocky stood before him with eyebrow raised and lips parted. "Jesse? What brings you here?"

"Oh nothing, I just thought perhaps we could talk, seeing as how there's nothing else to do." He pushed his foot into the room and looked directly into Rocky's eyes. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, come on in. I wasn't doing anything." He caught a whiff of alcohol coming from Rocky's breath and glanced to see a half drank bottle of vodka. It was amusing, but not surprising.

 _"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic…and a drunk is easily swayed."_ This was when he praised the gods above for the manipulation that came from his father's blood. "So Rocky, tell me." He grinned and placed a hand on Rocky's shoulder. "What are your thoughts on Mr. Vega?" Rocky frowned, his cheery demeanor quickly turning sour. "I know you can't be happy they won't let you tear into the guy." The hand in his pocket was wrapped around the recording device, and upon asking the question, he struck the record button.

"I hate him." Rocky crossed his arms and growled, venom dripped from his voice. "I would love nothing more to string the fucking bastard up, beat the shit out of him like a piñata until he bleeds." Jesse's eyebrows rose and he ran a hand over the back of his neck, whistling softly.

"Wow, that's some deep seated resentment."

"Well it isn't like the asshole doesn't have it coming." Rocky grabbed the vodka and took a quick swig. He coughed twice and beat his chest until he gasped. "I just wish I could kick his ass, and if I could, I'd kill him the first chance I get."

"My god!" He feigned surprise, moving his hand to his chest. Rocky pointed a finger and narrowed his eyes.

"Now, don't you go telling no one…"

He flipped off the recording and cleared his throat. "Well now." His lips twisted into a smirk. "I know how you can deal with him. Right now." Rocky's eyes went wide and he spoke with a gasp.

"What? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…" Jesse pointed to the gun on the end table nearby. "Take the gun, shoot out the video camera and you can do whatever you like to Mr. Vega and his family." He pat Rocky on the arm, his smirk widening. "Ross allows it."

"Truly?"

"Of course!"

"Thanks!" Rocky finished his vodka and rushed from the room, leaving Jesse to revel in the success for moment. Phase one was complete.

"Jerome can't stand betrayal, even from the closest officer." He walked out of the room casually, waiting just a few minutes before making a call to his brother. "Jerome, we have an issue."

"What?" Jerome sounded annoyed at being bothered, which made the call all the better.

"You know your trusted lieutenant, Rocky?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll want to hear this. He's drunk and just informed me that he's on his way to where the Vegas are being held." Jerome grunted in surprise, a sign that Jesse had grabbed his attention. "He's planning to shoot out the camera and beat up Mr. Vega. He said Ross allowed it."

"He allowed no such thing."

"You'll also want to hear this. I recorded him saying this about you…" He played back the recording he took, smirking as he pictured his brother trembling with rage.

"What?" His brother's voice rose, filling with the rage Jesse imagined there t0 be. "He's done!"

"I'm sorry it's come to this, brother."

"Thank you for looking out." Jerome growled. "I'll deal with this traitor now." The phone clicked off and Jesse exhaled, grateful it seemed all was going according to plan.

If Rocky could shoot out camera, it would be some time before it could be fixed, and hopefully enough time could pass that he could continue with the rest of his plans.

When he arrived at the location, he was just in time to see Rocky shoot out the camera in drunken rage. The Vegas watched with shock as he turned to them and pointed to David. "Now, no one has to witness what I am going to do to you."

Jerome hurried past Jesse, filling him with a sense of pride and accomplishment. "Hold it right there, Rock!" Rocky froze, his skin turning a lighter shade of pale. Jerome had a pistol in his hand and a scowl on his face. "My brother told me everything, asshole."

"What?" Rocky turned towards him and raised his hands up. "What are you talking about?"

"You want to string me up? Beat me until I bleed? Well fuck you!" Rocky's eyes went wide and Jerome aimed the pistol directly to him. "Also, Ross did _not_ agree to you beating on anyone, you useless sack of nuts. I'll teach you to betray me, traitor."

As Jesse anticipated, Rocky barely had any time to defend himself or question Jerome. In an instant, Jerome fired off three gunshots, each striking Rocky in the chest.

Jerome left without any further word, grumbling under his breath. Jesse glanced at the busted camera with a smirk and stepped into the room, his eyes focusing on the horrified sisters. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Rocky was slumped against the wall, blood pooling beneath him. "I'll have someone take Rocky out of here soon."

"What is going on?" Trina asked with a bitter and protective tone.

"Just a part of my plan." He winked. "Don't worry." He glanced at the camera and flared his nostrils. "I'm going to have to move Gary, but don't worry, it's all a part of the plan…"

Gary would be moved to the basement. It would keep people from trying to drug him as he'd be away, and once everything was situated, he could get his brother to go down there.

"Jerome thinks he's a badass, but he's never faced a Navy Seal before, especially one with a vengeance." If he could get Gary in line with his plan, he would have the man wait for a bit. Gary could be useful, especially once the raid began. It would start in the basement, after all. If everything went according to plan, Jerome would be taken out by Gary Malone's hand.

His heart slowed with his breathing as he looked once more at Rocky's body. It didn't feel right, and while he kept telling him these action were a part of the greater good, he couldn't settle the guilt within. _"Killed my father in cold blood, manipulated Rock and now I'm going to have to trick my brother…but killing him is the only way."_

There was no other choice. Unless the leader of the Knights stepped down, they could rule until they died. Jesse crouched beside Rock's body and looked into his lifeless eyes, wide open as though judging. "Sorry Rocky, it had to be done…" He put his hand over Rocky's eyes and moved it down, sliding his eyes shut.

Miles away, Jade watched Beck's mother guide her people to Hayley's home. DNA matching Hayley had been found in Tara's teeth, suggesting the girl bit Hayley during a struggle. For a moment, she couldn't help but to feel like a pawn; but at least it was for a good cause.

Hayley answered the door when Camille knocked, her eyes large and jaw agape. "Hayley Ferguson?" Mrs. Oliver grabbed her handcuffs and grabbed Hayley's wrists. "You're under arrest for the murder of Tara Ganz and the attempted murder of Jade West." Camille proceeded to read Hayley her rights, informing her that she was also going to be charged with the murder of her father.

"You're shitting me?" Hayley growled, her eyes narrowing. "You found the fucking body?" Jade held back a triumphant laugh. If Hayley could have sealed her fate any more, she didn't know how. "Fuck it. I won't resist. You got me…"'

* * *

So Jesse's plan begins to take form, and we may soon see Jerome's downfall. Once the head of security is removed, the good guys may just have an easier time. What are your thoughts here? Jesse seems to understand he's teetering that very thin line between where he wants to be and his greatest fear of becoming like that of Jerome and their father.


	18. Cain and Abel: Grey Area?

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I'm giving this to you now tonight before I go to bed, because I will be training at my job all day tomorrow and won't update. So here is the rest of Jesse's plan. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 18 (Cain and Abel: Grey Area)

"Do you know what revenge does to you?" Jesse stood before the Vega family, arms crossed and poise strong. Trina was standing now, but leaning against a wall for balance. Tori was beside her, kneeling before Gary, who had an arm around her shoulders.

David seemed never to budge from the wall he continued to hug, speaking little and his only movement was his guilt and pain-ridden eyes. "What?" Tori asked. Jesse looked to the shattered camera, almost excited that part of his plan went without a hitch. "Why do you want to move Gary?"

"I'll get to that." Jesse looked over his shoulder with a sigh. "Revenge destroys you, blackens the soul and darkens the heart." David shot him a glare, but he shrugged, unfazed. "Like hatred, it clouds the judgement and leaves a thin line between right and wrong. Taking advantage of Rocky like I did; it wasn't just, but I saw no better-or swifter-course of action."

Trina huffed. "Sounds like justification." He furrowed his brow at her and let the corners of his lips slide down. "You sent him to his death, for what? He shot out the camera…why do that?"

"The audio was in there as well." Leaning over, he picked up part of the metallic remains of the camera. He studied it momentarily and shook his head. "I don't want your captors to see or hear anything. Because the last they saw was, and with Jerome's witness, was Rocky shooting out the camera…I won't be removed from my post as your guard. It also allows me to pull more strings and do the things that must be done to ensure your survival."

"So that guy, drunk and idiotic as he was, was murdered for your agenda?"

"With him out of the way, as well as Hayley, I will be able to take over the Knights when I unseat my brother." Trina studied him, but she said nothing more. It was Gary who spoke, for the first time Jesse heard the man's rough and deep voice; and it was intimidating enough to ensure he would hang on the man's every word.

"Will you murder your brother?"

A lump formed in his throat and a tightness spread across his chest. "I…" Death was the only way Jerome would leave his position. "I've done things. I killed my father in cold blood as an act of retaliation for his murdering my beloved." He dropped the piece of camera, his face tightening. "I know what revenge does to you, but this isn't revenge. Jerome has _destroyed_ the Knights. He's become a monster, and I'm the only one willing and capable of stopping him."

Tori helped Gary to his feet. The man took a trembling step forward, but seemed to gain his footing rather easily. He raised his hands to the bars and tightened his fingers around them. "But tell me, who's stopping you?" Gary's eyes burned into Jesse's, his expression stern. "What will keep you from turning into the monster your father and brother became?"

"I know the difference between right and wrong."

"So did David." Gary looked at David, shaking his head with disapproval. "Took an oath on it when he became a sworn officer of the law, but lost himself making some of the justifications you would." Gary pressed his lips together and slid his hands downward. "If given the chance, would you spare your brother?"

Jesse started to answer, but hesitated. Doubt filled his head and his heart brewed with uncertainty. Thinking of how twisted Jerome made his very gang, his blood boiled with rage. "I can't answer that question right now."

"Sometimes right and wrong isn't black and white. Life is full of choices, and the right decision is not always easy or clear."

Hearing a noise from behind, Jesse leapt and twisted around, his muscles tensing and his hand reaching for the gun at his hip. "Whoa!" Sinjin raised his hands and looked back with wide eyes. "It's just me, Jess!" Jesse scowled and relaxed himself, letting Sinjin relax and look to the remains of the camera. "I wanted to see what happened. I heard old Rocky bit the bullet."

"Jerome killed him." He couldn't bring himself to tell Sinjin the hit was a result of his own actions. "I don't know what happened." The lie paralyzed him, causing him to avert his eyes. Gary made a grunting noise and Jesse balled his hands up. "I…I need to request something of you Sinjin."

"Anything man." Sinjin smiled and Jesse closed his eyes. "You have only to ask." It couldn't be said now, there was little time for chitchat and he needed to move Gary to the basement location urgently. Sinjin's brow furrowed with worry and he leaned forward. "What's going on, man?"

"I'll talk to you about it later. First off, Gary's being moved to the basement. It's all a part of the plan going on. It's also the safest course of action at the moment." He turned to face the family, looking at their concerned gazes. "I can pass for one person being moved, and that's Gary…I can influence them to say it'll be less of a risk to have him down there and to keep him there so he doesn't have to be drugged anymore."

"A better alternative, Jess?"

"Yeah." Jesse crossed his arms and cocked his head to the right. "Ross is calling for Gary to die next because the drugging was stopped." Tori gasped aloud and Gary sneered.

"Let them try!" Gary barked. Jesse chuckled and bowed his head.

"And that's exactly why. The bad guys view you as the greatest threat." Gary was the only member of the family that had the capability and skills to take out many people; so Ross was afraid Gary getting loose meant a destruction of the operation. "However, the basement is considered isolated and secure to the point Ross doesn't feel you'll be able to escape."

"Why the hell do you want me in the basement?" He extended his hands to the girls, growling and intensifying his voice. "If anything, I should be here making sure they're safe."

"Did you not hear me? Ross wants you dead next if you stay up here." Jesse met Gary's glare and took a step forward. "Now I've had Sinjin putting some boosters in your food as well as medicine, trying to heal you up as much as possible. For the girls, the basement will be the best place for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"When the rescue operation starts, where do you think we're going in first?" Gary paused, his eyebrows rising slowly. "I am on your side. Everything I'm doing is for you guys. There has never been a single moment where I wasn't trying to help you…" He trailed off, glancing at the girls with a distant memory forming in his mind. "You remember when you girls dated Jerome?" Trina frowned and Tori ran her hand up along her left shoulder and arm.

"What about it?" Trina asked.

"Remember the anonymous letter?" They looked to him curiously and he pat his chest. "I sent it. I couldn't stand seeing Jerome playing two sisters and wanted to stop him. I didn't know how, and it was Sasha that told me how. Now, Jerome's hurting you again, and again it falls on _me_ to stop him. So trust me, I'm going to stop him one way or another."

Jesse unlocked the cell door and pulled it open, motioning for Gary. "Come on, I'll fill you in on what's going to happen as we go." Gary moved forward, looking at the girls once more. "The girls will be safe."

"Ross hurt Trina again while I was out, didn't he?" Trina bit her lip and looked away, her eyes glistening with pain and tears. Gary sneered and growled. Jesse pressed his lips together, smacking them after a second and letting out a heavy sigh.

"He took advantage. Tricked her. Sinjin and I didn't know what to expect, but we certainly won't allow him to do it again."

Trina looked up, trembling as her sister threw arms around her. "What can you do?" The elder sibling asked. "What could you possibly do to him? Don't try and kill him just because of what he did to me. If something happened because of me…"

"No, he's going to be stopped because his role in what's happening to you and your family is disgusting, despicable and wrong. I wouldn't search for humanity in him, however." Jesse sneered as the others looked to him, as though expecting answers for a question they didn't know. "If he'd be so willing to follow his father blindly like this, to take joy out of hurting you when you can't defend yourself, then he has no humanity. No, Trina." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I'd fully expect him to be put down like a savage beast."

Trina remained quiet, watching as Gary slid out and Jesse closed the cell door. "Keep Gary safe," she said finally as the trio started moving to the door. "Whatever happens, don't let him die." Jesse paused, turning narrowed eyes over his left shoulder.

"Gary's my ace in the hole. Nothing will happen to him." He looked to Sinjin and motioned to the cell. "Stand guard for me, Sinjin." Sinjin frowned and returned to the cell without question. "Thanks. I'll be back shortly."

Gary took a breath and locked his wrists behind his back, allowing Jesse to grip them firmly with his left hand and grab Gary's shoulder with his right. "Okay, let's go." He guided the man out, leaning close to him to whisper while scanning the corridors with his eyes. "There is an entrance to the basement from the outside. We have allies who are building a task force to infiltrate the building."

"So they'll come in through the basement?" Gary was eyeballing the corridors as well, giving Jesse some comfort in knowing he wouldn't be alone if something went south from here. "Good. I assume the police won't be a party to this?"

"You know Beck Oliver?"

"How would I not?" Gary rolled his eyes and Jesse smirked.

"His family is pretty high up in the LAPD apparently, and they're unhappy with the Chief. So you'll have a few cops coming to help."

"I see. You're moving me to the basement as well to help the fight?"

"Exactly."

They entered an elevator and moved to the very back, facing the doors and watching close. "What does this have to do with your plan regarding Jerome?"

"I am going to send him to you." Jesse breathed heavily, his conflicted feelings once more returning to him. He didn't feel he was as bad as his brother or his father, but now he was beginning to question. They knew no mercy, but did he? Thinking on the question, all he could see was Rocky's dead eyes staring back at him. "I want you to hold on to him. I'll be right behind him, waiting for you to pin him."

"What makes you certain I'll be able to?"

"You're a navy seal. Jerome thinks he's a badass, but he's never looked at the records we have on you and your time with the military." Gary smirked and a proud look flashed in his eyes. "Now, that said, once we've dealt with Jerome…I'm going to need you to stay in the basement until our guys come in. Okay?"

"Seriously? I'm to be confined?"

"You'll have free reign down there, I'll ensure that." The elevator doors slid open and the two waited for a few seconds, making sure it was clear before stepping out. "I've also smuggled in a stash of weaponry down there in case you need weapons."

"I don't need weapons." Gary laughed once and narrowed his eyes at a door they were approaching. "There's a bolt on the door. Will you be locking it?"

"I'll leave it unlocked once the raid starts."

"Got it."

Once Jesse guided Gary down the concrete steps into the darkened dungeon, he left fully comfortable and confident in the man's prowess. He returned to the family's cell where Sinjin was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed and head bowed in a drowsy position.

"Sinin?" Jesse waited for a response, watching as Sinjin's chest expanded and sank in. He rolled his eyes and shook the man until he woke. "Dude!" Sinjin rubbed his eyes and coughed.

"Sorry, I wasn't asleep I swear."

Jesse folded his arms and chuckled. "Uh huh." Sinjin rose to his feet and Jesse studied him for a few short moments. The worried look returned to his best friend's face, so he turned towards the metal door and closed it gently. "Look man, I need you to do something. When all this is over."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to try and reclaim the Knights. Maybe I can talk some sense into my brother."

"Want me there?"

"No. It's safer for you if you're not." Jesse breathed in slow and glanced to the family. They were studying him, as though expecting him to say something that might unlock his greatest secrets. "Whenever we can fix the Knights. If they can even be reformed…I need you to take over. I will step down and let you lead them." Sinjin started to pale, his blue eyes widening with shock and some horror.

"What?" The man shook his head and tensed his forehead. "Why? That's your place. You've always wanted to reclaim the knights."

"I can try and save them, but once I fix them, I can't lead them…"

"Why not?"

"Because." Jesse shut his eyes and scoffed. "Even saving this family doesn't change what I've done in the past. I wanted what our original founder wanted, a group of people that are good. No murders, no drugs or other criminal activity. The leader should embody the principles they're expected to follow." He withheld the tears that stung his eyes and quickly cleared his throat. "I would be a hypocrite."

"Dude, no you wouldn't. You're not a monster."

"Am I not?" Jesse motioned to the pool of blood nearby, scoffing loudly. "I lied to you man. I feel like shit about it, but I lied." Sinjin stepped back, holding his breath. "I tricked Rocky. I got him to shoot out the camera and convinced Jerome to kill him, thinking that he wanted to kill him. Jerome killed Rocky because of me."

"Jess…"

"I slaughtered my own father because of what he did to Sasha; and never once did I stand up to Jerome for destroying the knights. Now is that chance, if I can convince him of anything…" He frowned. "I'm sorry man. I know you must be upset. I want you to know, no matter what you are my best friend; and probably the closest to Sasha in knowing what's right. I don't deserve to have a friend like you."

Sinjin balled up his hands. "Dude, I don't care." A wrinkle popped up between Sinjin's eyebrows. "I'll stand behind you either way, but you've been a good friend. You're a good person too, whether you think so or not. I mean, if you weren't, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't even be trying to help the Vegas." Jesse chuckled, still doubting himself. "You're nothing like your father or your brother, just so you know. You're no monster."

"I guess we'll have to see…just keep watch over the family for now."

"What's going to happen?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "I'm going to try and reason with my brother." It wasn't a lie. He wanted to try and either lock Jerome up or reason with him; but it didn't feel like either was going to happen.

Stepping out of the cell room, he made his way towards Jerome's room. Each step felt like his last, and every breath he took seemed harder to take. "Jerome." He opened the door to Jerome's room and saw the man reclining at his desk. "There's noises coming from the basement."

"Seriously?" Jerome raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Noises? What are you, a pansy? Go check it out."

"I would, but you're head of security. I've heard reports of a potential intruder. There's another report I thought I should bring to your attention, and you definitely will want to investigate. There might be a way in from the basement."

Jerome leaned forward, sweeping his feet off the desk and narrowing his eyes. "Okay, you've got my attention."

"There's a hole or something, I'm not sure fully what was in this report, as it was a bit hazy."

"Fine. I'll go check it out. God knows I'd have to report yet another troublesome incident to Ross and his shithead father." Jesse crossed his arms and waited for Jerome to get up and walk out. As Jerome passed, he narrowed his eyes and glanced to the gun at his waist. It felt heavy against his hip.

He followed after Jerome, waiting outside the door as Jerome moved down the steps carefully. "Come on," Jesse whispered. Anticipation and frustration swelled within him. He growled and slowly clenched his fists. "Get him, Gary."

"What the fuck!" A loud banging noise echoed from within, followed by two gunshots. A clattering sound followed the shots, and Jerome cried out in surprise. "Shit, let me go!"

Taking that as a cue, Jesse grabbed his gun and ran down the steps. Gary stood in the center of the room, his legs spread wide for support and his arms buckled upwards. Jerome was in front of him, struggling while Gary had a shirt wrapped tightly around his throat.

"Enough, Jerome." Jesse aimed his pistol, growling angrily as his brother stopped struggling and stared back at him with surprise. Jesse heard clattering from above and sighed. There had been several Knights on the floor at the time, but the ones on this floor were loyal to him rather than Jerome.

"Jess? What is this? You tricked me?"

"I did this because we need to talk." Jesse lowered the pistol a bit. "There's no other way. You've become a monster, you're not fit to lead the Knights any longer. I need you to hand them over to me."

Jerome blinked several times, then belted out with laughter. "Are you insane? Tell this asshole to release me." Jesse nodded at Gary, knowing full well the man could protect himself in the event Jerome tried to turn on him. Gary released his grip and Jerome walked forward, rubbing his throat. "I gotta hand it to you. Clever trick." Jerome's eyes flashed with venom and his lip twisted into a cold smirk. "Just like what Dad and I would do."

His heart stopped and his glare remained unflinching. "I'm nothing like you."

"No? Then what's this pointing a gun at your own brother? Or did you plan on murdering me like you did dad?"

"I only planned to talk."

"Oh? That's right, I'm in charge because you're the weaker one." Jerome clasped his hands together and locked eyes with Jesse. "You couldn't pull that trigger on me if you tried. I'm the only one that has the balls to do what is needed."

"What you've done is destroy the Knights! You ruined everything that they were meant to be, Jerome."

"I've lifted them from proverbial ruin." Jerome put his hands to his chest and mocked him with laughter. "You would have sent them to their grave with all the 'goody-goody, no drugs or illegal activity' bullshit. I made them strong."

"You made them _weak_. You're forcing them to do things that are inhumane, things they would not do otherwise. They've lost their true purpose. The knights were never intended to be another criminal organization."

"If you wanted a bunch of pussy motorcycle lovers, you could go to a biker bar. I won't apologize for bringing home the bacon where you failed."

Jesse's teeth ground together and he was seething with rage. Every fiber in his body wanted to pull the trigger, prove himself unworthy of the Knights that were watching him, waiting to see what he might do.

Jerome tapped his chin. "I wonder. Why do this now?" Jesse narrowed his eyes as Jerome took another step to the right. At Jerome's feet was his own gun, having been knocked away at some point by Gary. "Could it be you're _against_ what Chief Ross is doing? So, you're betraying the Knights?"

"You're the one betraying them, forcing them in the pocket of a monster. You're no better, though."

"So you're here to, what, gun me down in cold blood?"

"No." Jesse took several deep breaths, then holstered his pistol with a frustrated groan. "I'm not like you and I'm not like Dad. I won't kill you. The Knights _are_ watching, however, and I'll let them decide who is better fit to lead them. It won't be you, however."

Jerome sneered, the corner of his lip twitching as he started to growl. "Dad was right about you. You've become a pussy ever since that Sasha bitch." Jesse twitched and froze, his entire body burning at this point. "That best friend of yours is no different. You're no good, Jesse. Father should have put you down instead of that whore. You don't have the balls to pull the trigger, but I do."

Jesse's eyes widened as Jerome picked up the gun and aimed quickly. Just as Jerome pulled the trigger, Gary hit him from behind and Jesse ducked to the right in time to avoid getting shot. On reflex, he grabbed his gun and fired a shot in defense, striking Jerome in the center of his chest.

"Shit! I didn't want to do that!" He holstered his gun as Jerome crumpled to the ground. He ran to his brother's side and knelt, tears filling his eyes as he stared at the man. Jerome gasped for air, his eyes wide and trembling. Blood drizzled from his mouth as he stared back at Jesse. "Goddamn it Jerome, I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't going to shoot."

Jerome's fingers clutched Jesse's jacket. He choked, trying to speak. He watched in horror as the life faded from his brother's eyes. His hands began to tremble as they became soaked with blood.

Jesse looked at the doorway, staring at the knights that were watching him. There was respect and acceptance in their eyes. He rose to his feet, trembling as he stared down at his brother's body. "Fine. It comes to this…" He inhaled deep and looked at the group. "Then from this point, I am your leader."

The knights nodded their heads, each turning their eyes from Jerome's body to Gary. Jesse motioned his hand to Gary, narrowing his eyes.

"He is a friend. My order to you is this: We are not servants. We are the sword and shield, protectors and defenders of those who would become victims of the cruelty of humanity." He took a step forward, raising his voice with determination. "The purpose of the Black Knights was never and is not evil. We do not embrace drugs, we do not embrace gambling or the sex trade. We do not take gratification from criminal acts. Our founder wanted us to be like minded individuals who enjoyed motorcycles and other vehicles without being a stereotypical biker gang…"

He looked down at his brother's body, his heart filling with sadness and grief. "It was not my plan to take my brother's life today. I was afraid there was no other choice, but I wanted to save him. He…took things too far."

"What will we do now, then?" One knight inquired. "We can't just betray the Chief, can we?"

"No, not quite yet. We must play along until the time is right. I will handle this." He swept his hand through the air, tensing his brow. "However no further harm from the Knights to the Vega family will be allowed from this point on. If I find any of you engaging in criminal activity, you will be expunged from the Black Knights."

There was little time to grieve for his brother. Jerome's death, while unnecessary, had to happen. He needed to be stopped, and had already become a monster. Now Jesse had to make sure he didn't become just as bad.

"Gary?" He turned to the Navy Seal, looking up at the man with hope. "Do you mind doing something with Jerome? Bury him or something. I have to attend to the allies, I…I want to at least give Jerome a funeral."

"I'll see what I can do to preserve him," Gary replied, "But I can't promise anything. He'll decompose if you take too long, but I can at least clean him up."

"Thank you…" Now he needed to figure out the next step. He had the Knights, but it was too soon to pull away from the Chief without retaliation. At the very least, a task force could enter and he could order the Knights to turn a blind eye.

Just then the radio on the other side of hip went off, and Sinjin's voice rang out. "Jesse, we have a problem." He frowned and looked to his radio. "Um, Marcus and Stephen are on the floor, Marcus came into the cell area and I think he's up to something."

"Fuck…" From what he could tell, Marcus solely hated David. If anyone would take advantage of the busted camera, it would be Marcus; and he would be the one to try and take David out without hesitation. "Get off that floor. Get to the kitchen or something. I'll see what I can do."

"On it."

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What do you Think? So he was going to spare his brother. Well, what happens from here? What predictondo you make? Do tell


	19. Trail of Blood and Tears

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: A little time before bed, luckily enough, so I thought I'd put this out at the last minute. Enjoy

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Chapter 19 (Trail of Blood and Tears)

David watched his daughters, his heart full of love for them but guilt and anger at himself. Jesse's words from before resonated within him, to no surprise. Revenge ate away at his soul for so long, turning what he thought was sheer protectiveness into hatred and a desire to see those that harmed his family suffer.

Even now he felt it. He wanted nothing more than to get out and put a bullet in Ross's head, as well as the others involved. Then there was the Chief, the last person he expected to cause his family such pain.

He'd been left alone because he hadn't moved, so his strength had been returning to him. He wasn't weak like some might think; but the mindset that would keep him from being foolish had been replaced with desperation.

"Dad?" Tori's voice filled his ears and he opened his eyes, seeing her filled with fear. "Dad, something's wrong." She was hugging the back wall and staring ahead with large eyes. He turned his head and saw Marcus entering the room.

Rage flashed through him and he tensed up. The man shot him a glare and parted his lips in a sickening grin. Unwilling to speak, he maintained his glare. Marcus yanked open the gate and entered the cell. Tori and Trina backed up into a corner, holding each other.

Marcus was focused on him, however, and had his back to the girls. The man couldn't speak, of which David had once taken pride in causing. He glared at Marcus with an angry sneer and tensed up his muscles. _"What're you looking at, asshole? I dare you."_ His knuckles whitened as his fingernails dug into the palm of his hands.

His eyes traveled to a gun at Marcus's hip and he started to smirk as the man approached. The rage in his heart burned through him like fire in the blood. If Marcus provided a way out, he was going to get his girls out; but first he was going to take out the assholes that murdered his wife and put a bullet in Ross's skull.

 _"Just a little closer, Marco. Just a little closer you punk-ass bastard. I've already lost myself, I may as well do what I'm good at."_

"Daddy, look out!" Tori screamed as Marcus raised his hands up. David's nostrils flared and he ducked to the left in time to avoid the man's grab. His eyes snapped over and he pushed himself up with a shout, grabbing ahold of Marcus's wrist.

Marcus gasped as David twisted his arm around his back and shoved him to the ground. "I'll teach you." Ignoring his daughters' protesting, he proceeded to bash Marcus's head into the floor. "Show you trying to hurt my family you piece of shit." He grabbed a tuft of Marcus's hair and yanked back his head, revealing a horribly bludgeoned face.

David tore the gun from the man's side and pressed it against the back of Marcus's neck. "You wanted revenge? For what? For getting caught beating my little girl? You don't deserve shit!"

"No, Daddy!" Tori reached for him, but Trina pulled her back into her chest and wrapped her arms around her head. Her body twitched as David pulled the trigger. "No! No…" He released Marcus's body and hurried to the cell door, his nostrils flaring.

"Stay here," He growled. There was no telling what lay out there, and he didn't want to endanger his children by trying to guide them to freedom. "I'll be back when I've taken care of business." It was a desperate situation, and he found it difficult to have patience for whatever Jesse was doing. "Once I take care of the bastard upstairs once and for all."

He glanced at Trina, his heart sinking into a pit of despair. His muscles were still weak, and it was hard for him to move, but at the very least he could try and be stealthy. "Tell me I can't protect my children." David pressed his side against the wall and poked his head out the doorway.

Seeing that it was clear, he slid out. His arms were straight and the gun was pointed downward. He knew Ross was on the top floor, so he just had to be careful enough to not be noticed.

As he rounded another corner, he saw two guards walking down the corridor. He recognized them as being close to Jerome, so he raised his gun-the police instinct in him flowing strong. "Freeze!" The two guards stopped in their tracks and stared at him like deer caught in headlights. "Get your hands up and get on the ground!"

His thumb pulled back the hammer. He growled viciously and narrowed his eyes. When they didn't react, he pushed the gun forward a bit. "Now! I said on the ground!" The man on the right started reaching for his handgun, so David reacted without further shot and fired two shots.

The first bullet struck the man on the right in the chest, while the second hit the other man just above his right eye. They fell sideways and David moved between them, muttering under his breath. "I will get my girls out of here, no matter the cost." He knew it wasn't right, but he didn't care. The one thing on his mind was saving his two daughters, and the only way he was getting them out was by cutting the head of the snake off.

"David!" A familiar voice rang out from behind, causing him to tense up and partially turn his head. Stephen stood with pistol raised. His voice echoed through the halls. "I can't kill you, but I will incapacitate you. Surrender the gun."

He turned fully, raising his hands. "You caught me." He clicked his tongue and cocked his head. "What're you going to do?"

"Put the gun down, Dave."

"Gun?" He lowered his hand, chuckling darkly. "You mean this thing?" In a single instant, he fired a shot and ducked to the right. The bullet struck Stephen's right arm, forcing his hand to jerk and fire a shot on reflex. "Oops, finger slipped."

"Mother fucker!" Stephen sucked air in through his teeth and grabbed the gun with his left hand. "You asked for it." David turned and ran for the nearest hall. He wasn't as fast as usual, but any speed was better than none. "You're going to pay for Marcus!"

"You should pay for what you've done to my family, bastard!" Several gunshots rang out, each whizzing past his head. He grit his teeth as adrenaline burst through him, giving him what felt like an extra rush of speed.

He glanced back, seeing Stephen running after him. Thinking fast, he turned his arm back and fired off several shots, with only one striking Stephen in the leg. The man hollered out and stumbled to the ground, cussing violently.

Stephen still had the energy to aim, so David ducked behind a wall. His heart was pounding out several beats a minute like the drums of war. He bent his arm upwards, tensing his grip on the gun.

Closing his eyes, he steadied himself with a deep breath. "I will get to Ross, mark my words." He leaned around the corner and jumped back as Stephen pulled the trigger and fired a shot.

"Stay still, fucker!"

"Fuck you!" David poked his head out again, smirking when he saw Stephen gripping his wounded arm. The man's head was bowed and sweat was running down his face. "Hurts doesn't it?"

"Hurts?" Stephen raised his head, shouting at the top of his lungs. "What hurt was what your fucking wife did to me. All I did was cheat on your daughter, your wife took out parts of my body."

"Maybe you shouldn't have done what you did. Actions have consequences."

"So you're above the law?" Stephen growled and rose up, his body still shaking but he seemed able to ignore it. "Your actions have consequences too, you goddamned piece of shit. You should see the look in your children's eyes, they're scared of you."

He paused, his eyebrows pushing up a wrinkle and trembling as his guilt-ridden heart sank into his stomach. "I know what they must think of me, but now it doesn't matter. Now, I have to save them. Even if that means taking out each and every one of you."

Stephen yelled out and re-aimed his pistol. "Die, asshole!" David jumped back into his hiding spot, avoiding another gunshot. He raised his eyes upwards and took several deep breaths. "Come on, you can't keep ducking. Be a fucking man." Stephen limped forward, grunting and wincing with each step.

Ready to take another shot, David moved back into view and fired a shot at Stephen's left shoulder. Stephen yelled and dropped to his knees as blood gushed from the bullet wound. His gun fell to the floor, so David hurried forward and picked it up.

He moved behind Stephen and aimed the guns at his head, his eyes narrowed and his teeth were grinding together. "Do it," Stephen growled, "Go ahead and do it. Judge, Jury, and Executioner." He hesitated, his trigger finger trembling over the switch. "More like cold-blooded murderer." Stephen scoffed, bowing his head. "What must your girls think of daddy-dearest, eh? Protector? More like bloodthirsty monster."

"Shut up."

"That's all you are, all you'll ever be."

He pressed one gun forward, knocking Stephen in the back of his head. "I said shut up!" Stephen raised his head up and began laughing.

"Go ahead, do it. I'm dead anyway. I'll tell ya though, your soul is just as blackened. Go ahead Dave, make me a martyr. You know you want to."

"You're nothing."

"What's that? The pot calling the kettle black?" Enraged, he flung the gun around, gripping the nozzle and swinging the butt down on Stephen's head. The man fell forward, bleeding on the ground. David's eyes widened in horror as he saw blood slowly oozing from the back of Stephen's head.

"Fuck you." Raising his eyes, he saw two more guards running for him. He lifted the guns in defense and pulled hard on the triggers, screaming aloud. The guards fell to their knees, holding their bodies in anguish. "I will get to Ross. I will put a bullet in his skull, then I'm going to take out his father."

David slipped into an elevator and took the floor up. As it started to slow to a stop on the floor above, he raised his guns half-expecting someone else. When they opened, one guard was staring back into his eyes. "Oh," the guard took a step back, his hand slowly moving towards his waist. "Shit."

"I recognize you." David's upper lip twitched and he followed the guard out, growling angrily. "You're the fucker that beat my daughter when we first got here. I thought they killed you." The man swallowed hard and let out several nervous chuckles.

"Now wait a sec."

David's eyes flashed with rage and he began pelting the man's body with bullets, screaming at the top of his lungs as the man jerked and twisted. Blood splashed in every direction, looking as though an explosion had gone off by the time he was finished.

He began panting, before extending his hand and aiming at the head of the lifeless body. When horrified eyes stared back, they paralyzed him. He thought on Stephen's words and pictured his girls looking fearful of him, trembling and unable to look him in the eyes.

"No…" He lowered the gun, tears spilling out onto his cheeks. "What have I become?" His voice trembled and he fell to his knees. "I-I'm no better than these people."

"Damn right you're not." He tensed, Danny's voice filling his ears. His chest ached and he started to turn his head, but before he could see anything, he was struck down by a blunt object. He fell to the ground, grabbing his face and rolling onto his back.

"Shit!"

"Yeah! Come on!" Danny brought his foot crashing down like a hammer into David's chest, crushing his ribs. "Come on fucker, let's see that power you've got." David began trembling and started turning onto his side, groaning as his heart burst. "I can't kill you, but I sure as hell can beat the fucking shit out of you."

Another blow came, then another, each with seemingly more power than the last. "If you were looking to save your girls, you went about it the wrong way, you little piece of shit."

He felt something in him burst, but couldn't be sure what it was. His stomach started to fill and it became incredibly difficult to breathe; but still the beating came. "You won't live much longer, congrats on that." Danny sneered and grabbed him by the back of his head. "I can guarantee we'll slaughter those two girls before you die, though. We just need to clean up your fucking mess first."

David coughed, blood drizzling from his mouth. "No. No…" He couldn't believe he'd been stopped, but he wasn't surprised. Danny leaned forward, moving his head beside David's and smirking.

"Lost that murderous fire, have you? Good." Danny thrust his head forward, making it strike the floor with a loud thud. "I almost pity you, but I find this fun…"

Surviving the beating, he let Danny drag him back to the cell a broken man. Tori screamed as his body was flung into the cell. "Next one that tries something like this is getting a bullet through their skull."

Tori rushed to the cell and grabbed the bars. "I hate you Danny!" Danny smirked at her, his eyebrows rising up as the tears poured down her face. "I wish I never met you."

"Tough talk."

"Go fuck yourself!"

Danny paused, his face sinking before he yanked open the cell door. Tori yelped and stumbled back as he made his approach. "How about I give you the same beating I just gave your father?"

Just then, Trina stepped in front of her, baring her clenched teeth and glaring at Danny with cold eyes. "Touch her and die, Danny." Tori hunched forward, throwing her hands over her head and dropping to her knees. Trina hissed, holding her glare as Danny started to chuckle. "Go ahead Chuckles, but I'm not backing down. You fuck with my sister, and I will tear you apart."

"Really?" Danny tapped his chin and tilted his head. "I'm surprised, I thought the spirit had been sucked out of you."

"I'm not afraid of you. You can't do a damn thing to me." Trina inhaled deep, her mouth twisting into a grimace. "At least you wouldn't. I know where I stand…That bastard's made the intentions clear that no one's to do a damn thing to me. So you think I won't tear into you if you lay a _finger_ on my sister, then you have another thing coming."

She lurched forward and Danny took a step back, throwing his hands up. "Fine, you win, I'll leave her be. For now. Maybe we'll have to kill you first."

"Good luck with that."

As Danny left, Tori ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him. Trina walked over, turning her gaze sideways. "Trina?" Tori curled her hair behind her ear and David glanced up at her. "Trina, what was that about? What did you mean by that?" Trina shook her head and let out a disgusted scoff.

"That bastard has his own plans for me." She crossed her arms and shut her eyes. After a few seconds, her body began to quiver. "He despises his father but isn't in a position to act against him, but he keeps prolonging things. He…He wants to force me to be with him." She gagged and tears ran along the side of her face.

Tori furrowed her brow and started to rise. David coughed up more blood, unable to react with anything beyond numbness. "He wants to what?"

"Don't make me say it twice, Tori. Please."

"It won't happen," David replied. His voice was weak and it was difficult to speak. The girls looked at him and he gazed back, knowing full well he wasn't going to make it. "I…Trust Gary. I trust whatever Jesse and Sinjin are doing. I-I believe they'll save you girls."

"Dad."

"No, let me finish." The knelt beside him, holding his hands. His eyes filled with tears and he looked from one to the other. "I love you. I always have. I know…" He coughed up more blood and gasped for air. Trina moved her hand to his chest, starting to say he didn't have to speak. "No, listen. I know I've done things I'm not proud of. The things I've done, they're not right, and I must look like a monster to you…I'm sorry. This-this whole thing is my fault. I never meant to put you girls in this situation, I never meant to hurt you; and neither did you mother."

"Please." Tori coughed and leaned forward, her tears falling onto her father's cheeks. He shut his eyes and tried to breathe in, but it was too painful. "Please Daddy."

"No matter what happens, you look out for each other. Do you understand me?" Trina shut her eyes and bowed her head. Tori dropped her forehead to his chest, sobbing weakly. "If people treat you wrong, don't react in the ways your mother and I have. Don't take revenge out on people, don't be that way…do the right thing."

"Daddy, it'll be okay. You'll make it."

"I'll try and hold on as long as I can." He started wheezing and looked at Trina with frantic eyes. "Trina, look after your sister, but don't get vengeful. Don't make those mistakes. Don't let hatred get the better of you…"

"We love you," Trina whispered, "And I promise you I won't let a damn thing happen to Tori."

He placed a hand over hers. "Please. You have to be there for her. Protect her, but don't get violent. Like you just did with Danny, don't do it. Don't do anything to jeopardize yourself or her. Remember that."

She fell silent, nodding slowly. "I'll do my best." It was all she could do, even now she couldn't promise anything for a future that seemed uncertain. The only thing they were holding onto for hope was that those working towards saving them could work fast; or faster now. "You need medical attention, Dad."

"It won't come. They don't care; and I don't deserve to live." The girls tensed up and David coughed twice. "God I don't; but you do. The both of you. I have a lot of respect for Gary, so stay with him. He'll take care of you…"

"Dad, don't talk like this."

"This is real. I-I don't expect you to forgive me for the things I've done, I just want you to know how much I love you and how proud I am of the both of you…" Trina choked back her tears and moved a hand to Tori's back. "I love you both. Always and forever, and no matter what, your mom and I will always be with you…"

* * *

So to put it simply, yes David is officially dying. What are your thoughts on this chapter? Did David redeem himself a bit to his girls? Also, however brief, there's Trina's revelation. There can't be much more time left, but let's hope the good guys will come in.


	20. Standoff at the Park

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 20 (Standoff)

"And the hits just keep on coming." Jade rubbed her aching temples and groaned while walking alongside Jason at the park. She was trying to talk to him about everything that was going on, while at the same time trying to find a way to help the both of them stop stressing out. "Whatever Jesse's next step is, I hope it's done fast."

Jesse informed them about David's attempted escape, and that the man was now clinging to life by a thread. He said he felt around and thought he detected internal bleeding; but now medical help was being refused and Jesse couldn't convince anyone to try and aid the man. David was officially dying, leaving the girls alone and that much more vulnerable.

To say she wasn't terrified would be a lie, just as much to suggest that she was confident they'd save them. "On the plus side," Jason started, "We don't have to worry about Marcus or Stephen anymore." Not to mention a few of the bad Knights, but that didn't make things much better. "Jesse says he's almost ready, so I think we can do this."

They had task forces ready on all ends. The FBI would enter one way, they'd enter another; the plans were being set in motion. Jesse was currently moving his knights away, slow enough to be careful and slip out without notice; but some that were loyal to Jerome seemed eager to remain.

The Black Knights weren't incredibly large, and the split between those loyal to Jesse and those loyal to Jerome was about a seventy-thirty split. Then there was even less of a number of Jerome's loyalists remaining at the facility. It wasn't small, but it also wasn't an army. There could be anywhere from ten to thirty stilt here.

"I hate to say it, but I'm glad Mr. Vega at least took two of those assholes out; it's too damn bad it was Marcus and Stephen, and not the other two." Jason crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I need to think about something else. Seriously." Jade raised her eyebrows and shrugged. She'd been getting a few self-defense tips from him, but there was so much she felt she could learn; so she had a few ideas on how to take his mind off the matter at hand,.

"Well, maybe you could show me some more defensive moves?" They stopped their walk and turned towards one another, he hummed thoughtfully and stroked his chin. "Maybe show me how to disarm someone?"

"Well. I could show you the way I taught Trina. I showed her a good way to disarm someone that has a knife to their throat, among other things." Jade smiled and motioned with her hand.

"Yeah, that, show me that one." She grinned and Jason uncrossed his arms with a sigh. "I've seen some disarm techniques online." He clicked his tongue and glanced to the side, exhaling gently. Sensing his disapproval, her grin fell and she shrugged. "What?"

"There's the problem. You need to get those things out of your head." He bent over, picking up a small stick from the ground. "A lot of those can end very badly. There's a huge difference between a cooperating partner and someone bigger and stronger than you with intent to kill."

She pursed her lips and raised her chin, considering his words carefully. "Also, the attacker will come without warning." He moved an arm around her waist, holding her firmly in place, then moved the stick to her neck. She gasped out, her eyes opening wide.

Jade attempted to move her body, but his hold on her was too strong. "Jesus, I can barely move."

"Exactly. I'm bigger and stronger than you are; so what are you going to do? Try a move you've seen online. Go ahead."

Jade nodded and tried to step on his foot, but he barely reacted. "I always wear steel toe shoes." She grunted and moved her hand up in between his wrist and her body. Quickly, she tried to push his hand outward. "Ah, nope." He tensed his wrist and pulled back, making it lock in place. She rolled her eyes and dropped her hand.

"What do I do, then? I can't break your hold."

"First off, I'm hardly distracted. My reaction time will be quick. There is no foolproof technique for getting out of this position, even the technique I can show you can still end badly; but it's better than letting your life end."

"How could I distract you? How could I slow down your reaction time?"

"Talking, it keeps the mind preoccupied. As questions to your attacker, say anything. While you're doing this, start raising your hands-you can go slow here, but in a real situation you need to act fast."

"Raising my hands?"

"Yeah, raise your right hand like you're putting your arms up in defense, and start moving your left hand towards my knife hand." She did so, extending her arm up as though about to wrap around his neck. "Now here's what you do. You need to grab my wrist, wrap your fingers around it entirely and twist my wrist downward while pressing it against the chest."

"Okay."

"While you're doing that, your other arm and shoulder serves to block the knife arm from moving forward and cutting you-also aim your fingers towards the eyes to distract." She did as instructed, holding the position.

"At this point, if you're strong enough, you can pivot inwards and under the arm to escape." Jade tried to do so, but the pivot was blocked, leaving her grunting in frustration. "Your attacker is too strong, so you have to try a different method. There are a few, you could step on his foot-"

"You're wearing steel toes…"

"Right. If you need to loosen the attacker's grip on you, you can bite down on their arm. Bite hard, literally try to tear at his skin like that of a vicious dog." Jade glanced at his arm and turned her head, looking at him curiously. He sighed and shook his head at her. "I would rather you didn't do that part right. But let's say you did."

She felt his arm muscles relax, allowing her to turn. Eventually she found her raised arm landed on top of his. "Okay this is going to happen naturally. Move your hand down the arm and to the elbow." She did as instructed, curious how Trina fared learning this.

"How fast can Trina disarm you with this?"

"We…don't do this often, but she's gotten to be very fast at multiple maneuvers."

"Oh." She understood why, based off something he said before. "Ross attacked her with a knife, right? She probably wouldn't be comfortable…"

"She isn't. Neither am I. She's not comfortable with anyone behind her either. It wasn't until she trusted me that she even wanted to learn to disarm someone like this."

"Yeah." She slid behind him, moving her hand across his elbow joint, keeping it bent. "What now?"

"Take the hand grabbing the wrist, let go and move your arm up along the back." She did so, essentially locking his arm between hers. Her eyebrows rose and she chuckled excitedly. "There are many things you can do from here, but at this point you have the arm locked in place. You're in the best position to either follow through with a defensive attack of your own, or to escape."

"What are some things to do from here?"

"Perhaps bringing your knee up, striking your attacker in the back." She did so, hitting the small of his back and pushing his body forward. He clenched his teeth and took a swift breath. "Yeah. At some point your attacker will probably drop the knife. If not, you may be able to force the knife out of his hand."

"Okay, but let's say it is the two of us. You're physically larger and stronger than I am."

"Another reason swift movement would help you more. It loosens the grip, catches the attacker off guard and make him drop the knife as a reflexive move."

"I see." She took a small step back, releasing her hold on him. He turned around, shrugging himself and moving his head from left to right. "Any other techniques?"

"You should probably focus on practicing that one before learning others. There are ways, though dangerous."

"Yeah. Someone like you, I can see how easily it can be to be overpowered." Jason ran a hand along his neck, taking another slow and deep breath. "Has Trina always been a fighter? I know she was doing martial arts before, hell you two bonded because of that, but-I don't really know how to ask what I'm wanting to."

She'd never seen Ross before, nor had she heard of him. Trina was strong, strong enough that she'd taken on Robbie, Beck, _and_ Andre all by herself. "Just because someone knows how to fight and protect themselves doesn't mean they're always safe from danger…" He narrowed his eyes and raised his shoulders. "Ross is on par with me, anyway. Though that's besides the point…"

"Oh." She winced. "I guess that sounded a bit insensitive. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." They continued walking, and Jason fell silent after a while, his eyes scanning the area. They walked like this for a good half hour, which made her increasingly nervous. When he finally spoke, she was relieved. "We're being followed."

The color drained from her face and she started to glance over her shoulder, jerking her head back when he told her to look straight ahead. "I've noticed this for a while. It's not often, but every now and then I see someone stalking me. I pretend not to notice…"

"Who do you think?"

"I don't think, I know who it is." His body was tense and he looked ready for a fight. "It's Ross. He's been tailing me a few days now. "I get the feeling he's planning to jump me." He leaned over, still whispering. "You go straight and I'll turn right up here."

"Are you sure we should split up? I mean if he comes after me-"

"He won't, it's me he's after."

She wasn't about to leave his side. It wasn't a matter of her own safety, but she knew if it was Ross tailing him, he was going to need someone to hold him back from crossing a dangerous line.

"Sorry Jason, I'm not going anywhere."

"It'd be safer for you did."

"It's Ross." She narrowed her eyes and scoffed at him. "I'm not leaving the two of you in the same vicinity as one another. The explosion might just be enough to take out everyone at the park." Jason chuckled once and formed a smirk.

"Suit yourself." He stopped walking and turned partially, growling at something in the distance. Jade saw a group of leaves nearby rustling, then a broad shouldered, muscular man stepped into view. He was incredibly tall, had blonde spiked hair and a narrow face with deep and deadly blue eyes.

Her heart dropped into her stomach and fear gripped at her throat. "I should let you know, Trina mentioned to me he was a quarterback on his school's football team." Jade started to tremble and felt sweat forming around the borders of her hairline.

"Huh. So she's into athletes."

"Well, she _is_ an athlete, so..." A lump formed in her throat and she found herself unable to speak. A dark aura seemed to drift from this man, and each step he took made him look like a mountain that was moving.

She hardly thought he would have needed a knife to force Trina down. "Jason." Ross's voice was deep and thick, and hatred shimmered in his eyes. "Jason Tyler, I presume."

"Depends who's asking."

"I think you know me." Jason growled as the behemoth moved closer. Ross's eyes darted to Jade and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "And what is this? A new girlfriend? I heard Trina was missing…I wonder what she would say to this." Jade narrowed her eyes. Jason crossed his arms and shrugged.

"Considering who it is, Trina wouldn't believe I'd possibly be stepping out on her with this girl." Jade nodded, unable to possibly take offense. "I wouldn't cheat on her anyway, she knows me better."

"Right." Ross bowed and shook his head, chuckling darkly. "God, I remember when I went out with her. What a girl. I hope she's found soon." Jason's eyes seemed to darken and Jade watched as his lips pulled apart to reveal clenched and grinding teeth. "The body on that girl." Ross raised his head, smirking and meeting Jason's glare as though challenging him. "An amazing fuck too."

Jade put her hand on Jason's wrist, feeling him flinch and twitch. She knew what Ross was doing; he was trying to provoke and get Jason to attack him. She worried that Jason would do exactly that, and Ross might be waiting with a trick up his sleeve. "Relax," she whispered to him, "Don't let him provoke you."

Jason growled in response. Ross extended his hand. "Are you sure you haven't got a chick on the side? Maybe you're thinking Trina's already dead?" Jason lunged forward and Jade shot Ross a glare while trying to hold Jason back.

She wanted to attack the man herself, and was well prepped to do that. She knew the language of the provoker, and attempting to even defend her own self by saying she had a boyfriend would simply give Ross a chance to mock her or continue his attack. It was better to give him nothing than to give him anything.

"He knows you know who he is. He knows you hate him. Don't let him work you." God only knew what could happen if Ross captured Jason; and if anyone could subdue him, Ross certainly looked capable of it. "You know what he's done to Trina." Jason glanced at her, his breathing heavy and nostrils flaring. "What? You want him to kill you and show her your dead body? That would destroy her completely."

"I'm not going to attack him, Jade." He inhaled and Ross cocked his head to the right, as though impatiently waiting for them to finish. "I'm trying to think of the best way out. You should run though."

"Fuck that, Jason. I already told you I'm not leaving you here alone with him."

"I can handle myself."

"You think I'm worried about you? I know what you'd do, you'd do the same thing I would; and that's going to be reckless as hell." He rolled his eyes and pulled his arm away from her.

"I wonder if you know what this is," Ross remarked while pulling out a long switchblade knife. Jade turned her head, studying the knife. It had a long, reddish green handle with a pointed tip. The blade was several inches in length, had two circular holes in the center, and glistened in the sunlight. "I've had this trusty blade for many years."

In the corner of her eyes she saw Jason tensing up. He looked like a dragon, to the point she was almost certain smoke was seeping from his nostrils. "What do you take me for, Ross? A vengeful boyfriend? Why are you even doing this? I know you've been following me for a couple days now."

"Yes, I wanted to see what you were like. Get a feel for you, study you."

"You think you can toy with me, Ross?"

"I think you're not an unreasonable man. I believe you will come with me." Ross narrowed his eyes and smirked. "I might have an idea where Trina is, and we should work together."

"I'd never trust you, much less work with you."

"What? Don't you want to see your beloved again?"

"What I _want_ is to stab you in the neck with that knife you've got." Jason tilted his head and smirked back at him. "But neither of us are getting what we want to today, now are we…" Jason poked a finger out at the knife. "You'd rather gut me with that knife, for whatever reason. I'm not an idiot. Also, if I wanted to, I could take you out right here and right now…but I know better."

"Is that so?"

"The last thing Trina would want is me fucking with you." Jade was impressed and proud. "I even made a promise to her long ago I would never so much as seek you out. She knew what her parents were like, and wanted to make sure I wouldn't do the same."

"Uh huh. Personally I'd love to see you try and take me on. You're not strong enough, I guess."

"Fuck you."

Jade thought Jason was stronger for resisting, and knew it had to be taking every bit of his strength not to attack Ross right now. Jason extended his arms out sideways, raising his eyebrows. "If you were prepared to kill me, I think you would have done that by now. That means you're waiting it out, waiting for something." Jason tensed his forehead and bridge of his nose. "Waiting for me to make a move."

 _"That's right,"_ Jade thought while turning her eyes to the scowling man before them. If anything, Ross might want him to make the move just to tell Trina Jason actually stalked him and attacked him. There was a number of things it could be, and none of them were good. "Jason, we need to leave."

Ross chuckled. "You'd better go. Your piece on the side looks uncomfortable." Jade whispered for him to ignore Ross. She heard the growl in the back of his throat and waited as he turned sideways.

"Keep it up Ross," Jade remarked with a growl, "Jason holds back for Trina's sake; but my actual boyfriend would have no reason to hold back if you keep making statements like that…."

They walked on, maintaining a safe distance while checking on occasion to make sure they weren't being followed. Ross watched on, fuming and clenching his knife firmly.

When they were out of eyesight, Jade let out a huge sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you were able to keep your cool back there, Jason." Jason grunted and cracked his neck.

"It took everything in me not to tear his head from his shoulders."

"I know, I know…"

"We need to get Trina away from him."

She pat his back, smiling gently. "We will, Jason. Mark my words, we will get her back." He rolled his shoulders, sighing heavily. "Come on, let's get going."

* * *

That could have been bad right there. What are your thoughts on this chapter? It was a good lesson at the start, and then the confrontation between Jason and Ross looked like it could have gone bad in an instant.


	21. Plans Taking Shape

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 21 (Plans take Hold)

"Here we are." Jade stood with the others atop a hill overlooking the large facility below. With them was a SWAT team, a special FBI task force, and some of Captain Oliver's most trusted police officers. Andre and Jason were present as well, each ready to go in; and Jason had Colonel Wallace and a couple of the Colonel's men with him.

Robbie and Cat remained at Sikowitz's office to take care of the business was taken care of. Sikowitz would have stayed with them but took Sam and Beck to the neighborhood where the Chief lived to wait for the call to go in and make the arrest. The arrest needed to be made when the Vegas were out safe, so the minute the hostages were out, the plan was for them to go in and arrest the Chief.

With them was with were Jonah's two FBI contacts and Robbie's father; they held the power to make the arrest legitimate and official with the promise that Sikowitz would get the credit for his investigation. That was the part that amazed Jade, because it meant Sikowitz could get more notice and attention to his blossoming business.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Jason inquired. Jade nodded and focused on the course of action. The military would begin by entering the basement. Jason and the Colonel would free and brief Gary, and there was little question that Gary was going to join their forces. "Once we're inside, we're going to sweep the first floor. We'll make sure it's clear before letting you guys in through the back door."

He motioned to the task force and the Captain's officers. Jade grinned, prepared to join the fray. "Andre and I will enter with the two teams." Jason nodded. The military would continue to push ahead to the top floor, making a beeline for Ross's office. "We'll sweep the ground floor and the second floor, making sure to catch any of Jerome's Knights still hanging around. We'll also make sure that Sinjin gets out safe."

"Exactly. You can move ahead to the next floor with the SWAT team. You and Andre should be more focused on hostage relief. Let the task forces deal with any fighters." She could agree to that, and looked to Andre, who nodded in return. "Speaking of which, the SWAT team is prepped to enter the front door."

"Yes." They were going to flank the building. Some people were going to climb in through windows, and some would split into pairs and take various rooms by storm. "Jesse mentioned the elevators, so we're going to shut those off."

"Power generators will be in the basement, most likely." Jason crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Some of the military units will stay behind, waiting for everyone to enter before shutting off the power to the facility. That will help keep any from escaping."

There would also be units guarding the perimeter, to arrest any of Jerome's knights that were attempting to escape. "Sinjin should already be working on getting into the computer rooms, right?" Sinjin was going to hack the computer systems, leaving it near impossible for Ross or anyone to get ahold of the security footage. The plan was to hit them with surprise so they'd never see them coming.

"Jesse should be dealing with his part of the plan." Jesse had a difficult and dangerous task. He was at the Chief's home with the intent to distract the man. The Chief had remote access to the systems and security of the facility, and some security cameras set up outside were only accessible by him. If he saw anything strange, he could call his son to put people on high alert; and the sneak plan would become more of a bloodbath than they wanted.

The Chief's home was a large Victorian style home. Walking through it was unsettling even for Jesse, who had to deal with not angering any of the Knights wandering the grounds; for they were still loyal to Jerome and could attack him any moment. Fortunately Beck, his mother and grandfather, Sam, Jonah and the FBI agents were ready to storm the Chief's mansion and arrest everyone inside.

He moved slowly down the hall, two Knights behind him. His skin felt hot from the glares positioned on him. He distracted his mind from this by focusing on family portraits and photos on the wall. They weren't much, mainly pictures of Ross in his football uniform.

Much of everything was football memorabilia. Unsurprising, because the Chief-who had been on the football team during his youth-would have had nothing but pride in his son's achievements. Likely he wanted his son to become a star athlete one day; a dream that was destroyed by the prison sentence.

The oak door to the Chief's study was opened by the knights. Jesse felt himself being shoved into the room and turned around sharply, giving them a glare while dusting himself off. "Mr. Klein." He froze, his eyes darting sideways.

The Chief's large brown desk sat in the center of the room, with a large red leather chair turned to face a window overlooking the gardens below. The study door slammed shut, with the two knights standing guard on the inside.

It wouldn't be easy to incapacitate the Chief like this; not with the knights wandering the house. "Hello, Chief." The chair started to turn. Chief Ross was an overbearing and intimidating bear of a man, his piercing brown eyes studied Jesse closely. His salt and pepper hair was neatly combed back, and his beard seemed freshly trimmed. "We were going to discuss the Knights."

"Yes, you were telling me why you've decided to pull my force away upon your brother's passing."

"Right." He took a seat in the smaller leather chair before the desk. "I was just curious something before we start." The Chief reclined, his heavy hand stroking his beard. "You and your son seem to be at ends."

"He has his own ideas how things should be done. He dislikes how I've gone about everything, but is in no position to make any of the decisions."

"Yeah." Jesse folded his hands over his lap and raised an eyebrow. "Has he ever made any of his own choices?" The Chief chuckled and Jesse turned his head, thinking of his own father. "You seem to be trying to push your life on him." If he was right, Ross had never had power or control over his own life; and that was the reason he was how he was. Now Ross wanted to force others to his own whim, regardless of how they felt. He'd become a control freak, power hungry and feeling like imposing himself on people was the only way he could feel like a man. "How much of those football trophies were for him more than you?"

"What does it matter?"

"Because you never hit it big." Jesse pointed to the cane positioned like a trophy on the wall and the Chief slowly glanced over. "If I remember what my brother told me, you had a scholarship and were well on your way to being picked up when you had some sort of freak accident in college…ruining any chance you ever had of getting on the football team."

"Yeah, I had to have knee surgery, missed several seasons. Decided to go another route after that."

"So…that's why you made Ross live out your life? You wanted to see him go big and then have your dream become yours." The Chief's face tensed and his lips pulled back into a grimace. "But that didn't happen for you. He wanted to have his own life, to go his own way; but he felt powerless and out of control. He got a girlfriend, but maybe you didn't approve and then she didn't like him…"

"What are you getting at, boy?" The Chief growled, his hands trembling as he closed his fingers on the surface of his desk. The temperature in the room started to rise, to the point Jesse felt the entire house had been set on fire.

"Trina broke up with him. She broke up with him because he wasn't independent. He was just like you, and he didn't know anything else." Jesse stroked his chin, tilting his head gently. "Wanting to hold on to her because she was the one thing he felt like he could control in his life, he tried to force her to stay with him…but when she refused, he lost it. Hungry for power and control, he raped her."

The Chief's nostrils flared and his head leaned back. Jesse could see the veins in his neck bulging, and took a deep breath as the man's glare filled with malice and venom. "Then one of your officers, Trina's father, had your son arrested." Jesse snapped his fingers and shook his head. "He threw your son in jail, crushed all your dreams…but at least Ross had one thing, he learned the consequence of making his own decision. A bad decision, granted, but his own choice."

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Just trying to figure you out." There wasn't much to figure out, he knew well what kind of mentality these people had. "My only question is, how did you figure out David hurt others? How did you even realize the man that tried to kill your son in prison was hired by Dave?"

"You don't know?" The Chief raised his hands up, tapping his fingertips together and leaning forward. "The man that hired my son told him David hired him. So I investigated, found out other people that dated David's children who had mysteriously been injured or put through some sort of severe trauma." Jesse nodded slowly and moved his hands down, pushing them gently into his pockets.

"So what did you do then? When was this?"

"A year ago at least. I went to each man, asking about David, and found they all wanted to get back at him. So, I began formulating a plan, a plan that would make him pay for what he did to my son. Tearing away my son's life, tearing away that dream; and having the _gall_ to try and _murder_ my child and get away with it."

"You mean like how your son sexually assaulted his daughter?"

"That makes it right?" The Chief's voice rose and he stood swiftly, causing Jesse to flinch. "That justifies him, somehow?"

"No sir, he's not justified in that; but that also doesn't make you justified in what you're doing. Just saying." He decided not to debate what was worse; but in his mind he considered sexual assault much worse than murder. So much that the act sickened and horrified him.

The victim of murder was dead, they would never suffer again. The victim of rape never got over it; he knew people who still had flashbacks and horrors fifty years later. He knew some people, parts of outlaw biker gangs that he hoped the knights wouldn't turn into that said they prayed for their attacker to murder them.

He reviled the Ross family, hated them almost as much as Jason likely did. "Chief, did you know my grandmother had been assaulted when she was young?" The Chief grunted and Jesse looked down, dimming his eyes. "I'll never forget when I found out. I was about fifteen then, and I asked her. She clammed up, not wanting to talk about it at first…I told her I was sorry, and that I didn't quite understand. She was the first person I ever met that had been through that." His voice choked and he felt a sense of anger and sorrow coursing through him. "S-She never even told gramps. I only found out because of an old diary. She had no one, suffered her entire life with flashbacks, nightmares that led to insomnia…Even to her final days, she struggled thinking she was unclean."

"Okay?"

"The victim of murder, as much as it sounds hateful to say, they're no longer alive to suffer. Those left behind, they're the ones that suffer." He moved his hand to his chest. "I still struggle with Sasha's murder, and it threw me to the darkest parts of my life…The victims of sexual assault, they have friends and family that suffer too. A constant struggle."

Jesse clenched his hand and turned his head to the right. "Ross did it again to her. Taking advantage of her, tricking her into thinking her mother was going to survive." The Chief closed his eyes and curled a finger over his upper lip while tapping his jaw with his thumb. "I want to know why, if you wanted revenge against David, you chose to put Trina through that again. You knew what your son had done to her, or did you think he wasn't guilty?"

"I…knew he was wrong to do that." The Chief started to sit down, his voice faltering and eyes moving away from Jesse. "I wanted David to pay. My hatred for him let me get the better of me and I decided to have the boys torture his family. Told my son to let that family wait for a time before being put to death before their own father. Then I was going to kill David. Maybe I let it go on too long."

"Why do you say that?"

"My son still wishes to be in control. I know what he wants to do." The Chief let out a sad chuckle and turned his chair towards the window. "Taking Trina for his own, forcing her to be with him. Granted, as bad as it seems my son's become, he didn't want the entire family being put through what they have."

"No?"

"No. His only concern is Trina. He would have sooner let Holly and Tori go, or rather not have abducted them at all to begin with. I ordered it because it's what the other boys wanted. Holly's death? The other boys called for it, so he took advantage of Trina's wish to negotiate and let the others murder her mother."

"He really has no power, does he?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Wow." Seeing a flicker of pity in the Chief's eyes, Jesse looked down to his right pocket. His right hand caressed the recorder inside. "So he just follows your orders, and even the others?"

"They don't make orders. I do." The Chief poked his chest with his thumb and sighed. "I was the one to order the entire family kidnapped, the one to order Holly Vega's death and the torture of the family."

"I guess that's all I was concerned about." He smiled gently and cleared his throat. "Now, that said. I pulled the Knights back because my vision for them is along the lines of the founder's vision; and that means they are not an outlaw biker gang."

"Still on my payroll."

"Yes sir."

"I can have you arrested, you know."

"You can try to, sir." Jesse narrowed his eyes and bent forward, reaching to his legs. "Now if you excuse me, my shoelace is untied…" Pulling his baggy pant leg up revealed a small handgun taped to his ankle. He narrowed his eyes and yanked it away, rising up and twisting around.

The two dark knights guarding the door had little time to react as he fired a shot into their kneecaps. "What the hell!" The Chief rose and Jesse turned the gun on him, growling dangerously and tilting his head.

"I wouldn't." The chief raised his hands and Jesse slowly removed the recorder from his pocket. "You and I are going to have a little chat, Chief." Jesse walked around the desk, keeping his eyes focused on the man before him. "Don't worry, these bullets are blanks." He fired a shot at the Chief, causing him to fall over and curse.

It bought him time to open each desk drawer until he found a pair of handcuffs. "Alright Chief." The man threw his head up, growling viciously as Jesse grabbed his wrists and threw the cuffs on.

"You piece of shit."

"No. You're the piece of shit." Jesse locked the door to the study and took a few steps back. He knew it wouldn't be long before the officers below made their move, and he'd done his task of incapacitating the man.

"I do know where the key is at."

"I'm betting on that." There wasn't a doubt in his mind the Chief could find a way to free himself of those Cuffs. Or, if anything, get up and escape. "I'm also betting on you not being able to get out of the situation before I'm long gone." The two Knights started to rise up from the floor, not to his surprise. "Yeah, planned on that."

Thinking fast, he ran for the window and opened it up. "Don't you dare, Klein." Jesse took a deep breath, staring down at the bushes and grass below.

He felt almost like the pariah of his own family; the black sheep, decimating everything. It was all for what was right, though. Closing his eyes, he pictured Sasha's face. She brought a smile to him as she so often did, and he opened his eyes partially, letting out a soft exhale.

"Here goes…" The nightmare was over, at least he felt like it was. A recurring one as of late cast him in place of his brother; an evil version of himself leading the Black Knights. Trina was cast in his nightmare, being handed to him by a childish prank from none other than Jade herself; only to have Jade chase his men across the world to rescue the kidnapped girl.

It had been a strange nightmare he only associated with how personally he'd taken what happened to the Vega family and to Trina. "I could never be like that." He turned his head, glaring at the Chief and the two knights breathing heavily and glaring at him. "See ya."

He flung himself out the window and curled himself up, holding his breath as he tried to aim for the back of the Chief's pickup truck that was filled with a few garbage bags and some sealed clothing the man had picked up from the cleaners.

"Shit!"

At the facility, Trina continued to nurse her father while Tori paced the floor. David was pale and drenched in sweat. Tori stopped and turned, whimpering as she looked to her father. "What are we going to do, Trina? If Daddy dies, who'll take care of us?"

"I'll take care of you." Trina closed her eyes and breathed out. "I will."

"Who'll take care of _you_?"

"Don't worry about that. Besides…we have Gary."

The metal door opened and Trina turned her head, freezing up when she saw Ross entering the room with Danny. Danny's arms were crossed and a wide smirk stretched across his face. "Hello bitches," Danny said. Trina's eyes focused on Ross, who remained quiet and nonchalant. "Guess what we've got planned for you."

Tori looked to Trina and whined. She couldn't move, her eyes were dim and fear ran down her spine like a hot knife. Her stomach tightened into knots and she started to shrink as Ross's shadow fell over her. "Help me," she whispered.

Ross opened the cell door, and with each step he took, Trina felt herself struggling to breathe. She cried out in alarm as Danny grabbed Tori by the hair. "I'll be taking your ass." Tori screamed, crying out as Danny yanked her from the cell.

Trina fell back as Ross continued his approach, she crawled backwards towards the wall. She started to hyperventilate, shaking her head and clawing at the ground. "No." She whimpered as he reached down and grabbed her arm.

"Come on." She screamed as he yanked her off the floor. "We're going to the office."

"No!"

"For your own good. Pops wants you dead, but that's not happening. Fuck whatever he says."

"Please…" Ross dragged her out of the cell, slamming the door behind her. "T-Tori." She teared up, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Please, my sister. I need-"

"She's being moved to a room on Danny's floor to be watched, since there's no camera in your cell area anymore. The computers and radio systems aren't working anymore either, for some strange reason." Ross stopped in front of a window, tensing up and narrowing his eyes. "Fuck." She grabbed her throat and looked out, her eyes widening as she saw several people moving towards the facility. "Shit, shit, we've been found out!"

He turned away and Trina scanned the forces below. She saw Jade, which surprised her, then saw Jason leading them. Her heart rose and filled with a sense of hope as well as anxiety. She hoped he'd be careful, because she couldn't stand the thought of something happening to him.

"Let's move!" Ross pulled her back and she cried out as he shoved her up the stairs. "Keep walking."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing unless you don't shut up." He growled and narrowed his eyes. "Fuck, I was hoping to put a bullet in my dad's skull first. Just needed time to get your family out first. Jesus." He began to mutter, rolling his eyes. "But no, Dad wanted to let the others have their little fun taking revenge on your family. Just needed to get rid of Danny and the others first, then my dad, but no…Why does _nothing_ go my way?" Her eyes widened and she closed her eyes, trembling as she followed him to his office.

* * *

Well, looks like it's begun. Regular and old readers may recognize the plot of Jesse's nightmare, the one time he was ever featured as a villain, hah. So everything's in motion, and it looks like the sisters have been separated. Let's hope the group can get everyone out.


	22. Soldier's Entrance

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 22 (Soldier's Entrance)

Jason crawled through the window into the basement and reached for the gun on his hip just in case there were any unexpected guards waiting for him. Hearing a noise nearby, he aimed the gun and turned to his right. "Who's there?" He shouted in a commanding tone. Colonel Wallace entered with the other soldiers and drew their weapons as well.

A man moved from the shadows, his gaze determined and chest moving slowly. "Gary Malone. You must be the rescue mission." Jason sighed, feeling a great deal of relief. Gary studied him closely and extended a hand. "You must be Jason." Jason nodded and took the man's handshake, meeting his firmness with a firmness of his own. "Trina talks very highly of you. Always has. It's unfortunate I've never been in a position to meet you until now, and unfortunate we must meet under circumstances like these."

"Same." He exhaled and pulled his hand away. "It's an honor to fight by your side, however." Gary smiled gently and Jason gave a quick nod. "You're being held hostage, but we won't ask you to flee."

"I wouldn't flee anyway."

"Right." He motioned to the Colonel. "I believe you know Colonel Wallace." Gary looked up with a wide grin and greeted the man with endearment. The Colonel shook his hand and patted his arm, looking into Gary's eyes with a proud smile. Gary took a deep breath and turned towards Jason.

"Situation report, Tyler. David Vega is mortally wounded." Jason's heart sank and he looked down, growling lightly. "Jesse's informed me that he's been beaten beyond what could be healed at this point. His body has begun shutting down."

"If he is alive or not, we need to get him out of this building. All of them." Gary nodded. It was a painful report, and as the last technical parent of the family, Jason was set to guard Gary with his life. Trina and her sister already lost their mother and father, their stepfather was not going to die on his watch. "We will let the others in through the back and front, but we must be cautious for any of Jerome's followers left behind."

"Right." Gary raised a gun, one that had been provided to him by Jesse, and looked up to the door. "They've left the door unlocked. I've done my part staying in here, but I won't say I'm not glad to see you guys coming in. Now let's save my girls."

"Yes sir."

"I give you the lead," Colonel Wallace said to his friend. Gary narrowed his eyes and looked to the door. "I'll have my men patrol the basement and ground floor, they'll sweep the grounds and let the police forces in. You head where you must." Gary turned to Jason.

"What's the status report for the other teams entering the building?" Jason straightened himself and cleared his throat.

"They are on hostage relief duty, sir." He was nervous and eager, but also worried about something possibly going wrong. Even with a perfect plan, there was always the chance something could go wrong. "I've been tasked with reaching the top floor." Gary's lips appeared to tighten and the man nodded with certainty.

"Ross's office is on the top floor. According to Jesse, the man has two ways into the room." Jason raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. He looked to the basement door, studying it for a second before glancing to the soldiers moving towards the power generators. "One goes through the restroom and out into a hallway. The other is his main entrance."

Seeing where Gary was headed with this, he started to grin. "So we take him from two sides? Someone enters through the main and the other through the restroom?"

"Yes." This would be great. As much as he wanted to make a direct route to Trina or make a beeline for Ross, he knew they needed to focus on taking care of each floor. The task forces available could do most of the work, letting them take that direct path towards the leaders; but they were there to assist as well. "I should warn you, Jesse has not been made aware of this as it's happened so swiftly."

"What?"

"While Marcus and Stephen have been taken out by David's actions, they've been replaced by two men that were a part of Jerome's gang. Purposely selected by the Chief for their connection to the Vegas." Jason furrowed his brow and Gary had the team shine a flashlight towards a dark corner. "One of them paid me a visit, so I took care of him…"

There was a vaguely familiar, leather jacketed man with dark hair slumped over in a corner. He had a black eye and was bound by rope. "Is…" He jerked his head back and raised his eyebrows. "Is that Ryder Daniels?" Gary chuckled softly and crossed his arms as the soldiers surrounded the man.

Jason knew Ryder from a photograph Trina let him see. He dated Tori very briefly. "Yes it is. He's one of the people that dated the girls and lasted such a short amount of time that he could potentially be forgettable. You'd probably be more familiar with a man named Mitchell."

"Mitchell?" He rolled his eyes and let out a grunt. "That dumbass kid?" Gary smirked. Mitchell was more annoying than he was troublesome. While her first boyfriend had been Jerome, Mitchell was the first person that she dated; it didn't last long and he decided to stalk her for a bit before she threatened to have her dad arrest him. "You're telling me Chief Ross put two useless, forgettable dumbasses in charge of floors?"

Gary shrugged. "Sounded more like temporary replacements." It was obvious how Gary had found out, he may have interrogated Ryder before keeping him unconscious. "The men were literally found either yesterday or the day before. Ryder _was_ put in charge of the Ground floor. I'm sure we'll find Mitchell on the second floor…Then you know Danny and Ross."

"Fourth and Final."

"Yes. The third is where Jerome patrolled." They moved up the basement steps, taking slow strides just in case any of Jerome's knights came in. "I think Jesse was put in charge of the third floor upon becoming the Knights' new leader. Which is good, since that's where the girls are."

"Good. Then we're ready to let the task forces in from the back and front."

"Have your soldiers let them in." He nodded to Colonel Wallace, who immediately turned to give his men orders. Jason smiled with pride as Gary turned his narrow eyes towards the hallway. "Let's make our way up the main flight of stairs." He paused, glancing sideways. "That is, I assume you've turned off the elevators."

"Yes sir. Do you have any orders going through?"

"Orders? Aren't you leading this charge, Marine?" Gary smirked at him and he withheld a laugh. As the elder and technically superior officer, Jason looked up to Gary with a great deal of respect.

They heard footsteps nearby, so Jason aimed his weapon in the general direction of the noise. Gary hugged the wall, glaring as a shadow began approaching. "Now that you mention it…" A guard passed and stopped with his back to Gary. He raised his head to Jason and his eyes widened.

Before he could react, Gary struck him from behind and watched as the unconscious body crashed to the ground. "Try to avoid killing, if at all possible. Save them for arrests."

"Yes sir."

"Also." Gary crossed his arms and met Jason's gaze. "Not the best time to bring it up, but I heard you've got a ring for Trina?"

"Um." His face went red and he cleared his throat. "Yes sir. I would say after all this, I had thought of asking permission to propose. It seemed only right, but with Mr. Vega passing…"

"Son, you get us out of here and you can travel halfway across the world with my stepdaughter if you like." Jason's heart skipped a beat and he let out a relieved chuckle as Gary poked around the corner to scan the area. "I have always had a good deal of respect for you, so did David. We trust you with her, and you seem to make her happy. I couldn't think of anyone else that would be a good match; but first thing's first."

"Let's get through today."

"Damn straight."

Behind him, Colonel Wallace split his men into two teams, one to head towards the front to let one task force in and the second to the back door. He took off with one of the two teams to sweep the first floor.

"Good, this is better." Gary kept his voice low, so Jason did the same; it was to help avoid detection by any patrolling guards. "Two men are less noticeable and detectable than a group of armed soldiers." They turned down a long corridor, making their way towards the flight of stairs. "Did you get a floor plan of the building from Jesse?"

"I did." They were going to do quick sweeps, if at all possible; so they were going to need a general idea of the layout. "I've studied the floor maps to the best of my ability." It was always disorienting at first going from a map to the physical location, but it was still better than going blind. "We're to do a quick scan of the floor and make sure the area is light enough for the task forces to come in."

"You've got lines of communication open. Good."

"Yes sir." Jason grabbed his radio from his belt to show Gary. "Jade and Andre might push ahead if they feel confident with their task forces, but overall we are to do quick sweeps to try and clear as many as we can for them to go in and pull out the family and any other innocents."

"Okay." Gary leaned back and inhaled. "I'm still stunned to hear Tori's friends have been a part of the rescue effort."

"A huge part. I wouldn't believe it myself if I wasn't there to see it." He had a lot of respect for them as a result and planned on letting Trina know he thought they were turning out to be somewhat decent. The girls might not trust them at first, and it would certainly take some time to repair the broken relationships, but there was always hope

"Good." Gary leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. "I'm in good shape, but still feeling a tad sick from all the drugging. Jesse and Sinjin were a great help with the food and the medications." Gary held up a hand and leaned around a corner.

After second, he let out a chuckle and turned back. "Come look at this poor smuck." Jason walked over and looked to see what he was talking about. Across the hall, laying asleep on a bench was Mitchell. He was short and skinny, had a freckled face and a brown mullet. "Guess the second floor really is the lazy floor."

"Really." Jason cocked his head. "You'd think a police raid going on, power going out and everything would a sense of urgency to someone." All things considered, the second floor was the least guarded. Stephen had been on point in his patrols, so much that Jerome didn't need to station too many guards. "Jesse said Stephen always walked the floor, so there aren't a lot of knights here."

"Well, that makes this floor a bit easy to maneuver."

They went from room to room, checking for any guards at all. There were about three; one in a break room area and two had been walking different sections of the floors. They knocked each one out without them noticing their presence, and then returned to the center area to see if Mitchell had waken yet.

Their curiosity was answered by the loud snoring echoing amid the silence. "Jesus he's a hard sleeper." Jason blinked twice and sighed. "I don't understand the Chief's obsession with people that dated the girls."

"He thinks Dave and Holly went after every single person they dated, so he wanted to give them all a part of having revenge. Mitchell got it lucky, Trina was so young that it never had a chance to become serious enough for David to bother with him. Or rather, they dated before Dave and Holly got so protective."

Gary grabbed the rope that Jesse had provided to him in the Basement and removed a pocketknife from his waist. Jason moved behind Mitchell, staring down at the man as he sputtered in his sleep. "It's almost like watching a baby sleep."

"Yeah, right." Gary scoffed. "One that's become a willing participant in destroying my girls."

"Right."

Mitchell groaned softly and started rubbing his eyes. "Quick Jason, knock him out." Mitchel sat up and looked around, his eyes widening. Jason dealt a swift blow to his head, knocking him back on the bench. "Okay, well, that works."

Jason took a few steps away, giving Gary room to tie the man up. "Second floor clear," he spoke into the radio. "All hostiles incapacitated and detained. No civilians on floor two."

The third floor was going to be hectic, since it was the most guarded. The third was heavily guarded for two reasons: It was where the family was held and it was the primary floor for the knights.

"Ten four," Jade replied over the radio. "Thanks for making our load a little bit easier." Easy was perhaps an exaggeration, this seemed more like the calm before the storm to him. In his experience, and Gary's as well judging by his tense expression, things often got worse before they got better. Colonel Wallace is taking his men and the SWAT team to the third floor. Andre and I are taking the task force to the fourth. Do you copy?"

"I copy." The slow, continued assault was best. He wasn't sure whether to join the third floor sweep or not, however. They likely would, but if Jade and Andre were heading to the fourth, their help could be needed as well. "We will perform a quick status check on the family on the third, and send them down to safety."

* * *

Because all the movement happens at the same time, but each have enough to focus on one person, I wasn't sure how to divvy up Jason and Jade's team. So next we'll see Jade making her way up, then Jason and Gary will be heading to the top floor. Let's see if they can all succeed.


	23. Floor of Horrors Part 1

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Okay, I'm a little pissed right now, but that's okay. This chapter is not incomplete, otherwise I wouldn't put it up, it coincidentally ends right at a perfect place to make this a standalone chapter. The second half is the confrontation with Danny. I wrote it at another computer with my flash drive, only to lose it all, so now I have to rewrite it. Which I guess is okay because I felt like that was a little rushed, but it will seem odd to give him two chapters where what I have planned for Ross takes one. Oh well, it's still flowing well. Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 23 (Floor of Horrors Part 1)

"I feel kind of bad," Jade said while following Andre through the second floor. "I really haven't done much, and it feels like some of you guys think I have." Andre raised an eyebrow and stopped before the unfamiliar face that Jason said was Mitchell.

"You've jumpstarted this entire thing." Andre looked down at Mitchell, who was now conscious and glaring at them from the ground. His hands were tied behind his back, and he looked to be slithering almost like a snake.

Jade watched in amusement as the police they were with lifted Mitchell up via his arms. "I know." In reality, all she felt like she'd done was observe and watch others work. "I've been an observer, a follower. Not a leader. At the end of the day, I almost became one of Hayley's victims."

Andre rolled his eyes and turned to her. "You're the one that called for us to find a way to help the family when the police weren't able to investigate." She smiled gently and lifted her gaze up towards him. "You kept Jason from diving headfirst like a madman into a situation none of us understood; much less kept him alive when Ross confronted the two of you in the park."

"I guess…"

"Then you're the one that discovered potential motives. You made initial contact with Sinjin and told everyone of his role. You've done more than you think you have." He crossed his arms and started to chuckle. "Hell. Of all people, you were the one keeping all of us grounded. Usually, that's exactly the opposite of what you do."

Her heart swelled and she grinned with pride; everything he said felt amazing. It was all amazing because she'd never thought about things in such away; and certainly she'd never impacted people positively in such a manner in the past. The counseling, trying to be patient and learning from Beck seemed to be paying off a great deal.

Andre smoothed his hair back and started moving. "Hell, if not for you, Jason probably would have beat us all senseless, because I'm pretty sure he hated us at the start."

"He did."

"Ah." Andre's eyes rolled to the ceiling and he smirked. "There's that bluntness I remember."

She smirked. "I gotta retain some of my old qualities, I suppose." She kept Jason calm, mostly because everything he would have done was what she would have. More than her, however, he was petrified of losing that family. "He loved Trina, and he cared deeply for her sister and her parents. Respected them all a great deal. I think they were his second family…"

"Or maybe he looked at them like his family. All this time, neither he or his uncle have discussed his parents-or if he even has siblings. Then again, you're the one he's ended up confiding into about a lot."

"Yep, that's surprises him as much as it does me." She knew about Jason's family, but only because they talked very briefly about it once. His father was out of their lives since he was a kid, due to some affair that wound up in a nasty divorce. His mother remarried many years later, but left him alone much of the time; so growing up, his closest relative had always been his uncle. "Let's just say he's seen his uncle more than he's seen his parents. Leave it at that, you know."

"Yeah." They made their way up the nearest flight of stairs, moving past the third and to the fourth. The reason for skipping the third was that the Colonel was taking his men and the other task force there, and Sinjin sent out a mass text alerting them that the girls had been moved to the upper floors.

It scared her to think of what that meant, or why they'd been moved, but they had to stay calm and get the job done. Hostage relief was their task, and nothing more. "You know, Jade…" Andre, already at the top of the flight of steps, stopped and looked down to her as she climbed towards him. "Tori was right, we didn't know anything about her and still don't. As I think about Ian and the things he said, I can't help but wonder who Tori really is. A good person, I'm sure, but what I mean by that is what are her true interests; and if performance arts are mainly a hobby, what are her passions?"

"I'm sure we'll find out, assuming she doesn't shut us out. The likelihood of our friendship with her depends on her and how she perceives us." They knew better to expect things to go back to normal.

The sisters were going to need people in their lives that were understanding and compassionate. "It may be some friendships can't be repaired. We've already hurt them in the past, and now they've gone through the ultimate hell, so it wouldn't be farfetched to assume they'd look at us as just another person that hurt them."

There would always be that chance. Jade understood it, she knew that it would happen. For a while, Tori may well look at them and question when it would be that they'd do or say something to damage her or her sister. It was clear that those two girls would look at one another as the only people they could trust not to harm them in this world.

"They're going to need people that aren't going to hurt them, people that won't give them a reason to think something would happen." She pushed open the door and carefully poked her head out, only to pull it back when she thought she saw someone walking by. Her voice lowered to a whisper and she turned towards Andre. "Given our history, Tori and her sister have every right and reason to be afraid we might hurt them…I know too well the difference between forgiving and forgetting. You can forgive someone for hurting you, but you can't easily forget; so we can't impose our friendship on them if they don't want us around."

"I'm prepared to start all over," Andre replied slowly, "For Tori, I would." Jade smiled and nodded briskly. She couldn't help but wonder how deeply he cared for the girl.

"I know you were a little broken up when you found out about Ian. Your crush on Tori, you've never mentioned it…" Andre's shoulders fell and he let out a small sigh.

"That's past now, even if I wanted to I couldn't act on it." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "But yeah, I never wanted to hurt her. When she was yelling at us that night, I felt like the world's biggest asshole…I wanted to tell her I was sorry for everything, to make sure she knew I was going to try and be a better friend."

"That's why you're trying so hard."

"Basically. I know Ian would want to be here too, but I wouldn't risk his life when she needs him. If he's what makes her happy, then that's what I want. If she told us to go away, then I would; and if that's what she wants after this is over, I will accept it."

"I think we all would agree." They simply needed to get her out first. The door to the stairwell opened up and the two froze, half expecting to get shot. They turned and saw Sinjin staring back at them with a stern expression.

"Are you two coming or going to spend all day talking?" Jade groaned and walked past him.

"We were waiting for someone we saw to pass by."

"That was me. I was doing a check of the floor. We were waiting for someone we saw to pass by."

"That was me. I was doing a check of the floor. You guys aren't going to like what you'll find." She noticed there the corridor they were standing in was the only hallway. The elevator was to their left, and a door was directly in front of them. "I suppose you've heard of Joseph Mengele from WWII and the Nazi's?"

"The creep doctor?"

"Let's just say this place has one of those types too…Danny likes to experiment. On anything and everything. He's like a mad scientist, if you want to put it that way." She raised an eyebrow and Andre growled.

"Looks like Tori has a type," he muttered. Sinjin chuckled softly and Jade nodded. "Science guys. Or just smart people."

"Well, Ian did say science had always been her strong suit." Turning to her right, she saw a dead body on the ground and shuddered. It was riddled with bullets and coagulated blood, but also had several larger holes cut into it where organs had been removed. "Okay, who butchered the guy there?" Sinjin glanced down and poked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Danny. David shot the guy to death, and Danny wanted to experiment with his organs. This floor is incredibly disturbing."

"I see. You should probably head downstairs, get out of here."

"Not until you guys get Tori. Danny's got her." A tightness came over Jade's chest as she looked towards the door, feeling that somewhere behind it they would find their friend. "Danny has carved out this entire floor, to where this hallway is literally the only walkway on this floor." Sinjin walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. "Behind this is one huge ass laboratory."

"Fuck." Andre smacked his forehead and groaned in frustration. "I can't fight a scientist, I'm a fighter." Jade hung her head and let out a heavy sigh while Sinjin rolled his eyes.

"Danny is into some weird shit. Like the forbidden sciences type of shit. It's a miracle he didn't just take David and start experimenting on the guy himself. Be ready for some sick fuck and imagine all the ways that science can kill you…"

It was unsettling, which Jade felt was the intent. Sinjin wanted them to prepare and be ready, rather than march in unexpectedly. Her mind was already spinning with the various things that could take them out from the moment they entered that door. "God, what if he poisons the very air?" She grabbed at her throat and closed her eyes. "Can we take him out?" She was afraid, but when she looked at Andre, she only saw determination. "Andre, I don't know."

"We have to try. Tori is behind this door; and I'm not going to let her be subjected to whatever experimentation Danny has for her." His nostrils flared and his muscles started to tense. "Bastard better not touch her, better not do her like Ross did Trina either."

Sinjin blinked multiple times. "He has no-nevermind…" He shuddered and started to pull the door open. "Danny's sick but he's never done something like that to anyone as far as I can tell. Pretty sure only Ross has done that…"

Andre marched in and Jade soon followed. Fear and anxiety filled her mind as they carefully proceeded through a room filled with tubes of liquid and strange material. "God I hate sci-fi stuff." She hugged herself and looked to the left, seeing something that made her scream.

Holly's corpse was suspended in a clear tube, shriveled up like a prune with various tubes sticking out from her body and draining her of any blood she had.

Jade grabbed Andre's arm, horrified and shaken. The man's expression tensed and he quickly fired a bullet at the tube, shattering the glass. "What kind of sick bastard would do that?" He pulled away at the glass, wincing each time he cut himself, until he could pull Holly's body free. "That's it, I'm going to put a bullet in his head if I get a chance."

He laid Holly's body down carefully, frowning as he studied her. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Vega." Jade ran ahead a bit and hovered over a trash bin to vomit into it. Tears mixed with mucous and a tremor ran through her in swift vibrating pulses.

When she looked up, she saw more corpses. Each was in a different state, some had weird objects sticking out of them that made them look alien, while others were distorted and disfigured.

There were also tanks of animals and insects that looked to be injected with some sort of growth serum, as they were much larger than normal.

As the color left her body, and her fingertips caressed the trash can, she was tempted to run for the door. "Andre, I'm scared." Her breathing trembled from her lips and she looked back at the man. "And it takes a lot to do that to me." She whimpered fearfully as Andre approached.

"It'll be alright. We just need to press ahead. The police can deal with this floor. Tori's around somewhere, we just have to find her." She didn't want to search through this floor of horrors, but Andre was correct, they needed to stomach it and get Tori out.

"Tori loves science. She's a scientist." Jade chuckled nervously and walked hunched over beside Andre. "I can only imagine what she could do if pissed enough."

"This doesn't seem like the type of science she would be into."

"Yeah I know. I'm just…nervous…"

"It's okay." He smiled reassuringly and pat her on the shoulder. "You've done a lot, keeping everyone grounded, so let me be the one to help you stay calm. Take a few breaths and focus on the goal."

"I will. I'll try."

As they searched, Tori wasn't anywhere to be found. They did come across another door, which they had no idea what lay on the other side. Since Tori wasn't in the room they were in, they proceeded on into the next after reporting all their findings over the radio.

* * *

We've learned a lot here I suppose, about Jade's feelings of inadequacy to why Andre is fighting as hard as he is. Then we see the gravity of Danny, a mad scientist through in through it looks like. Two brawn minded individuals against a scientist. Well, they _did_ want to know about the things Tori was interested in.


	24. Floor of Horrors Part 2

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 24 (Floor of Horrors Part 2)

As they entered the room, Jade began to feel her nausea returning. There was a different feeling to the room, as well as a different appearance. It was practically empty, save for the egg white walls and the black and white checkered tile flooring. In the center was what appeared to be a sliding trapdoor, square in shape.

She looked ahead at the other side of the oddly shaped room and saw a large rectangular window, and behind it was Danny, studying them with murderous eyes. He raised his arms up with a laugh. "Welcome! I'm so glad you decided to join me." He dropped his hands to whatever desk was in front of him and a loud slamming noise startled Jade from behind.

She and Andre twisted around, tensing at the now shut door. Andre grabbed the knob and turned it, but the door didn't open. "Shit." He threw his weight against it, growling in anger. "We're locked in."

"Trapped like rats." Danny smirked, leaning forward. "My newest lab rats. I half expected you to turn tail and run when you came through my hall of experiments." Jade shut her eyes, instantly cursing herself for deciding with Andre to move ahead of the task force they were with.

"God I hate myself." She slammed the heel of her hand against her forehead and Andre raised an eyebrow. "Everyone goes to the third floor and we decide to go to the fourth." Sinjin would probably get help, so they just needed to last long enough for that.

"Not your fault," Andre whispered, "We wanted to get Tori." He was right, but they were told not to rush things for this very reason. They jumped the gun, and now they were in trouble. "We'll get out of this, but first…" He pulled the hammer of his gun back and aimed at the window. "Where's Tori, you sick bastard?" Danny cocked his head to the right and Jade watched his arm move.

The clicking of metal filled her ears and she glanced to the trapdoor in the center of the room. As it slid open, a tube began to rise. Her heart dropped and the color began to leave her skin. "You wanted to know," Danny remarked.

Tori was inside the clear tube, slamming her palms against the glass and screaming-likely at the top of her lungs though she couldn't be heard. There were several small holes along the container, each sealed off, making the only air she was getting coming from the tube attached underneath the container.

Tensing her forehead, Jade felt her stomach tighten and looked at Andre sharply. "She's protected in there." Andre grunted and started to raise his shoulders. "There's got to be a reason he's closed off those breathing holes. She's in there, we're out here, and he's controlling everything in this room from where he's at…"

"We're in for it, then. He was ready for us."

Danny cackled. "Ross and I both saw your troops coming towards the building. You took us by surprise, but cut off all our power somehow…Fortunately, I have my own power generators on this floor. Did you know there's a way to use the dead to harness energy as well? I discovered that after a long amount of testing."

Jade grabbed her chest and began to tremble, thinking of all the corpses in the other room. Danny looked at her and laughed. "Don't worry, even Ross wouldn't step on this floor…as much of a devil as he is, he can't stand my floor."

"You're sick, Danny."

"Sick? Me? Just think of the advances to science that my research could find." His voice started to rise and he began breathing huskily. "I've discovered renewable energy sources, I've discovered stuff like mind control, even. Think about if we harnessed energy from those that lay in cemeteries, we wouldn't need all these other energy sources."

"Yep. You're sick."

Andre looked over his shoulder. "Um, did I hear him say something about mind control?" Another sliding door opened and they turned to see a startling sight.

Stephen stood in place, shambling like something out of a zombie movie. He was covered in blood, and had a large mechanism attached to a gaping wound on the back of his head. "Excuse me." Andre cleared his throat and turned slowly towards Danny, his calm voice rising. "But what the _fuck_ is that!"

"I've created a way to turn the dead into mindless robots, essentially. Powerful fighters. You can tear away at their body and they'll never die!" Jade's eyes shot over to Tori, who was gawking at Stephen with wide, puffy red eyes. Feeling faint, Jade began to move behind Andre, not knowing what to do.

"I thought I was disturbed…"

Andre growled. "If Tori could hear me say this, I'd ask she not take it the wrong way…" He looked back at her with narrow eyes. "But I fucking hate science. Bullet's aren't going to stop that thing, Jade. I'll try and fight it while you check out Tori's container."

She nodded, curling her fingers inward and watching as Andre charged madly for Stephen's corpse. Andre brought his fists up and began to step sideways, moving in a circular motion.

Jade furrowed her brow and glanced at Danny. He was watching the fight and his arm was moving. With each movement of his arm, Stephen would turn or throw a punch. "Is Danny controlling Stephen's corpse? He's distracted, then."

She ran up to Tori's container, pushing herself up against it and trying to feel the glass with her hands. "We're going to get you out of here, Tori. One way or another." Tori's eyes fixated on her. The pain and fear in them was heartbreaking to see; and granted she never thought in a million years that she'd see such a look in her friend. "I'm sorry. For everything."

Tori's right hand was lowered and her index finger was rapidly tapping one of the small breathing holes that was sealed off. "What? What are you trying to tell me?" Jade studied the hole and started to slide her finger along the glass inside it. This glass seemed thin, much thinner than the actual container. "I wonder if this container is bulletproof."

Andre's irritated shouts filled her ears and she looked over with worry. He was throwing swift and powerful jabs, but in return Stephen was dealing him some heavy blows as well. He already had blood sliding down his face.

He tore off his shirt and tightened the ends around his fists. "I've had just about enough of you, Stephen." He chuckled darkly and dodged to the right to avoid a strike. "I've been wanting to kick your ass since the day we found you cheating on Tori."

Andre turned sideways and released one end of the shirt, slinging it hard into Stephen's face. "But God, fighting your lifeless body feels wrong, man." He jumped back, curling his eyebrows together and heaving forth a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry you're being controlled like this. I don't know how to stop this." Jade heard a tapping sound and looked at Tori. Tori quickly moved her hand up, tapping the side of her head with her finger.

"What?" Jade pursed her lips, watching as Tori tapped faster. Glancing at Stephen and the mechanism on his head, she felt her breath sweep away from her lungs and cried out to Andre. "That thing on his head! Andre, I can't believe I didn't think of it before. Tori's trying to tell us, that device is what's keeping him alive."

Andre crouched low, avoiding a double swing from Stephen. "The wires going in his head, all the metal that's in his body right now…Jade, what the fuck am I supposed to do? I can't just tear that thing off."

"Maybe there's a switch, a button, _something_ to turn that thing off." Jade extended her arms. "Push come to shove, you could always just give it one good hit. It's not like you're going to hurt Stephen or anything."

Andre scowled at her and ducked to avoid another punch. "Alright Stephen." He rose up, dealing a massive uppercut to Stephen's chin. "Come on you scrawny prick." He rushed behind the corpse and tackled him, quickly pinning him and examining the mechanism. "Oh! Wow. Every fucked up action movie villain puts a self-destruct button on their device for some reason. For a real life mad genius, you'd think that'd be the one thing he _wouldn't_ do."

"Huh?"

Andre raised his hand. "Sorry Stephen. Rest in peace, man." He brought his hand down, striking the device, then rolled away from Stephen. The corpse started to rise, shaking violently as the mechanism began to whir. Andre walked away, shaking his arms outwards. "I did not expect to be in a sci-fi, zombie, horror, action movie all wrapped into one today. What's next? Aliens?" The device exploded in sparks, and Stephen's body collapsed to the ground.

"At this point, Andre, I wouldn't put it past him." Andre paled and shot her another glare. "Anyway, I think-" She sniffed the air and looked towards the ceiling as four metal hoses slid down. "What's he doing now?"

"Another experiment. Human desperation." Danny flashed a twisted grin and Jade felt the glass of the container behind her vibrating. When she turned, she saw Tori striking the glass, pounding it with her fist. Water was rising within, and Tori was pointing at her mouth as if telling them she couldn't breathe.

Panic began to set in and she let out a whimper as a fine mist poured from the hoses. "Time is of the essence," Danny remarked, "When faced with your own imminent mortality versus the imminent mortality of Tori…how hard will you try to rescue her before you decide to save yourself? Or, will you die trying to rescue her?"

Andre grit his teeth. "I'm getting a little fed up with you and your games, Danny!" He shook his shirt out and looked at Jade as she began to cough. The gas was rough in her throat, poisoning her and cutting off her oxygen. "Shit. Jade, here."

"What?" She rasped and raised her head as he flung his shirt around her face, covering her mouth and nose firmly before tying a large knot on the back of her head. "Andre?" Tears welled up in her eyes and she speculated how he was going to protect himself.

"I promised Beck I wouldn't let a damn thing happen to you, so I'll be damned if you go dying on me." The shirt helped a bit, but she still breathed in some of the air. "Hold your breath."

He held his breath and grabbed the gun. There wasn't much time, so they had to shut off the gas somehow. Even more, they needed to get Tori out of that container before either the lack of oxygen or the rising water killed her."

Jade's stomach twisted and she began to feel the uncontrollable urge to vomit. As fear settled in, she began to realize what kind of gas was being used.

"Andre." She pulled the shirt down just a bit so her voice wasn't so muffled. Science was not her forte; as a matter of fact, it had often been her worst subject because she found it so boring. "I don't know much about gas, but I think this might be a vomit inducer. Be careful."

"Yeah." He was sweating, his face turning pale. "I can feel that. The guy's going to make us puke to death. If we had the time, we could block those pipes, but I'm more concerned about getting Tori out of this fucking container."

Tori was sliding down to her knees, her face pale and sickly. Her head and left shoulder fell against the glass and her half-lidded eyes gazed out at the two. "Put that shirt back over your mouth and nose, Jade." He raced over to the container, shouting with urgency. "Hang in there, we're going to get you out."

Jade looked at the door, her vision was getting blurry and it was harder to concentrate. "H-Holly." Her fingers trembled and she stumbled forward, dropping to her knees with Andre. "Her container wasn't bulletproof. The glass might be the same way. Try Danny's window and Tori's…you know…"

She fell to her hands, yanking the shirt off her face as vomit fell from her lips. Andre leaned his back against the container, dropping the back of his head against it and breathing heavily. It seemed he was trying to force back the urge to vomit.

He raised his gun to Danny's window and fired two gunshots. Remarkably the gun didn't explode, meaning something about the gas that Jade didn't quite understand. The bullets cracked the glass and put a hole through it, causing Danny to scream out in panic.

As the gas began to seep in through the hole, he struck a button to shut it off. Andre dropped his gun and rolled onto his stomach, groaning as he extended his arms and aimed for Tori's container.

The water was now over her bent head. "Tori." Andre blinked twice and pulled the hammer back. "I won't let you die." He pressed the gun against the glass and fired a shot, causing his body to flinch as the bullet ripped through the glass. Water came gushing out, drenching them both.

Jade heard a powerful banging sound and looked at the door with a hopeful smile. After four more slams, the door blew open and the task force they left behind came running in with Sinjin. They opened fire on Danny's glass window while Sinjin made a beeline for them.

"Come on." Sinjin grabbed the gun from Andre and fired multiple shots at the container, breaking down the glass until he could reach in and pull Tori out. Andre helped Jade to her feet, groaning softly as he put her arm over her shoulder.

The officers came to help them, with some of the others hopping Danny's window and grabbing his now lifeless corpse off the floor.

Finally out of the laboratory, Jade took her first breath of fresh air and savored it for a few long seconds. Paramedics placed Tori's body on a stretcher and she smiled as the girl turned her head. She seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness. "Trina," Tori muttered, "Ross has her…"

"It'll be okay." They wanted to help the others go for Ross and save Trina, but she knew they just weren't in the condition to do so. Jade radioed in the situation, waiting for Jason to give the go ahead for her to move on out with Andre and Tori. "Jason's going to save her, Tori."

The paramedics moved a breathing mask over Tori's face and pushed her stretcher into the elevator. Some of the medics on the floor made their way over to her and to Andre, so they'd be getting medical attention whether they wanted it or not.

"I still feel like I've been more of a useless liability than anything…" She exhaled and Andre gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm telling you, you're selling yourself short. Hell, you're the one that remembered the glass wasn't bulletproof."

"Dumb luck, Andre. It's all dumb luck. I'm just glad we got Tori out…now what? We wait?"

"Yeah, we have no choice really."

* * *

Jade may see Andre as the hero of the day here, but both of them contributed just as much. Some of Jade's worries are inspired by some of you guys sometimes focusing on Jade during moments where she literally does nothing but observe something happening, haha. He's right though, she has played a much bigger role than she credits herself with, without her they may not have even tried to look for the family. Tori's out safe, but where one sister's free the second remains. Tell me what you thought of this, and let's see what happens next


	25. The Last Hostage

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

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Chapter 25 (The Last Hostage)

The third floor was full of movement in every corner, whether it was from the Colonel's men or the SWAT team. Jason felt a quick sweep of it was unnecessary for this reason, but he had the hope that the girls could be found here, along with the hope that they could catch David before he expired.

Chances were slim to none that David would live, according to reports by both Jesse and Sinjin. At the very least, he wanted to make the man's last minutes of life comfortable and not spent in captivity.

"Not much longer now," Gary said while guiding Jason in a careful line through the corridors. All around them they could hear shouts, officers ordering Jerome's last remaining loyal soldiers to stand down while gunfire erupted in other locations. Gary's nostrils flared open and his chest started to expand. "God I hate this place, but I can't say I'm not happy to see it burn."

"Once we get them out, we're going for Ross. Right?" He didn't know what he was going to do about Ross or how he was going to handle the situation. Every fiber of his body wanted Ross dead, but there was something more about the man that he was slowly beginning to realize.

"He's backed into a corner now." Jason narrowed his eyes and looked to the ceiling. "He's bound to know we're here. He's been at his father's beck and call all his life, Trina may be the one thing that his father never controlled him on…"

Gary glanced sideways, huffing angrily. "Ross hurt her in a way that all but destroyed her, but I find interesting that he would never take her life." Jason raised an eyebrow and Gary leaned around a corner, growling for a moment before pulling back. "Everything that's happened so far? Holly's death, the torture…I think it's all come from the Chief. Ross has only ever displayed an interest in one person."

"Trina." He drew in a deep, trembling breath and closed his eyes. "Goddamn him." Just then his phone made buzzed violently, giving him a pause. Gary turned his head and Jason grabbed the phone to read a text message. "It's from Sinjin." Reading the text, his heart sank and he began to shake with anger.

"What is it son? Spit it out."

"Ross and Danny. They have the girls." He tensed and pictured Ross holding Trina in his room. His teeth clenched together, grinding dangerously. Gary remained calm, but a flash of anger filled in the man's eyes. "Ross has Trina. I swear if he touches her I'm going to kill him."

"No you're not. Don't lose yourself, just focus on Trina." He nodded slowly and followed Gary down the hall. "We'll head back. Go up the stairs and take Ross. I don't quite understand his fixation with her. It's as though he cares for her in some twisted way, but yet he's caused her a great deal of pain. He may not think twice before gunning you down."

"You think? If he didn't really want her family killed like his father did, but he'd kill me?"

"It's a bit obvious if you think about it." Gary was right. The more he thought on it, the more it seemed like Ross would do anything to keep Trina for himself; and that meant removing the one person that she was tied to. "If he knew anything about that proposal of yours-"

"Then I'd have been dead a long time ago." His words rolled out with his exhale, and he felt a mighty tremor rush through him. "He wouldn't have hesitated to kill me at the park. He hesitated, I'm not sure why, but now I think I'm beginning to understand."

Jesse explained via radio everything that he talked about to the Chief. This was what aided in Jason coming to the realization that he was now, along with the reactions and statements said by others present. "He's not in control of a damn thing. His father is. He wants Trina, but doesn't agree with his father's methods-meaning he doesn't think it's right to destroy those important to her?"

"Sounds about right."

"He didn't kill me at the park for whatever reason, he didn't even try to attack. Just provoked, maybe he thought he needed to work up the courage?"

"Maybe." Or perhaps Ross was afraid killing him would have been too much at the time. Even forcing someone to stay with you would be difficult if they had absolutely no one left that was important to them. "Do you really want to sit around trying to figure out his psychological state, or do you want to get Trina away from him?"

"Trina."

"That's what I thought."

Just as they turned the corner, they came face to face with four of the Knights that remained on the floor. They were carrying a makeshift stretcher with David laying upon it, and appeared as though they'd been trying to sneak him out.

The knights blinked twice as Gary studied them with scorn. Slowly they started to turn, and one of them shouted for the other three to start moving. "Not happening." Gary rushed between the two at David's feet and slammed his elbows into their heads. As they fell away, he reached down and grabbed the two bars of the stretcher firmly and let out a growl at the other two knights. "Slowly place him down."

Colonel Wallace and two soldiers rushed around the corner in front of them and aimed a rifle at two. The knights rolled their eyes and crouched low, released David and rose back up raising their hands into the air.

As the Colonel and a few officers coming around tended to the knights, Gary rushed and crouched at David's side. "Dave? Dave!" David turned his head slowly, looking up at Gary and Jason. The light was fading from his eyes, and he truly looked to be on his last leg.

Gary placed a hand on David's arm, frowning and furrowing his brow. "I'm sorry, David. I wish help could have come sooner." The corners of David's mouth slid up and he opened his lips. "Save your energy, Dave."

"Take care of my girls." Jade's voice came over the radio, weak and raspy. The three men listened to her status update and relief filled Jason's heart as he grabbed the radio.

Tori was safe. She was alive and headed out of the building. "You've done a great job," Jason told her. "Thank you, both of you. Feel free to go downstairs and get some rest…Gary and I are going to deal with Ross."

David took a slow breath, wheezing as he did. "I've tried to stay alive, to see them safe. I can't hold on much longer."

For the first time, Jason saw tears in Gary's eyes. There was a history between the two men, one that Tori and Trina never revealed to the group of friends or anyone outside the family beyond Jason and Ian. It all circulated around Holly, and Gary's military career.

The three had been lifelong friends, and strangely Holly was in love with both men. Where the friends saw an affair, the reality was a strange and twisted kind of relationship.

While Gary was the girls' stepfather, it was unsure which man was truly their father as Holly stayed with both of them separately throughout the years; and she only stayed with David in the last few years when she became as immensely protective of her daughters as she had.

"I'm sorry about Mrs. Vega," Jason replied. Gary closed his eyes and David turned to look at Jason closely. "I never quite understood the whole picture, but I know how much you guys loved her."

"Yeah." Gary smirked and looked down at David with a smile. "The three of us go way back, eh Dave? The military brat, cop wannabe and the lady." David smiled back and closed his eyes. "Don't worry David, I'll get our last girl out. Nothing's going to happen to her."

"Promise me Gary, promise me you'll look after them."

"You know I will." The paramedics rushed around the corner and took David's stretcher. Jason studied Gary closely as he watched them take David away. His breathing shook for a moment and he turned around, clearing his throat once he saw Jason. "Come on, let's get Trina out of this hellhole."

They moved in silence to the stairwell. Jason continued to study Gary, his mind spinning with various thoughts. "So…the two of you…" Gary let out a grunt and didn't bother to look back or reply while moving up the steps.

"You remember how we're going to get into this office? You go through the main entrance, I'll go through the second."

"Right. I'll try and keep Ross busy."

Jason stood before Ross's office door, taking several deep breaths to calm and steady himself. He shook his arms out and moved his neck from side to side. "Okay," he whispered to himself, "Stay calm. He won't hurt her. I have to keep him talking, long enough to let Gary in."

Carefully he put his hand to the doorknob, thinking in the back of his head that their might be a trap Turning sideways, he pushed the door slowly and was amazed to find it unlocked.

If Trina was in there, he would have to be cautious and calm, guns blazing and loud noises weren't going to help her in any way.

Whimpering noises filled his ears and his heart wrenched with worry and grief. Inside, the carpeting was red despite every piece of furniture and walls being brown. The office looked remarkably similar to how Jesse described the Chief's office looking.

"Jason!" Trina gasped and cried out in alarm. He froze when he saw her standing in the center of the room with Ross just behind her. He had a hand on her waist and his knife against her throat, in a pose similar to how he'd shown Jade. Her face was wet with tears and her eyes red and puffy. "Jason help me."

Fear gripped his throat and anger coursed through his veins as he made eye contact with Ross's narrow glare. "Not another step." Ross's demand was firm and threatening. "Not another step, or she dies." Trina swayed forward, whimpering and shaking like a leaf.

"Okay." He extended his left hand, showing his palm, while still holding his pistol in his right. Crouching low, he kept eye contact with Ross. "Don't do anything you'll regret, Ross." He breathed in slow, resisting the urge to put a bullet through Ross's skull; but doing so would surely cause his wrist to flinch and cut Trina. "Let's talk. Let's try to be rational minded men for just a moment."

"Talk?" He scoffed. "Talk about what?" Jason noted a gun at Ross's hip. The man had a strong pose and seemed well prepared for any kind of fight. "There's nothing to talk about. I tried to talk to you before." Jason turned his ear towards him, raising his eyebrows.

"You mean when you were trying to provoke a fight?"

"I meant what I said about getting her family out of here, asshole. I meant that. Holly had no business dying, Tori and Dave…fuck, everything about this isn't right. My dad's scheme is not my own, I'm just a part of it."

There were tears glistening in Ross's eyes, a sure sign that maybe there was a flicker of humanity somewhere in there. Jason could hardly believe a rapist had any humanity whatsoever within, but he was open to consideration. "Your dad's been in charge your entire life, hasn't he? You've never been in control…"

"So?"

He glanced at Trina. Her eyes were full of horror and fear, her lips were trembling, and mucous was mixing in with her tears. Ross took a step forward, pushing her along with him. She started to whimper, moving at his will. "You're not going to kill her, Ross."

"The fuck you just say?"

"You heard me." Jason narrowed his eyes and glanced back at the man. "You're doing the same damn thing your father did. By forcing her to do what you want, you're putting her in the same boat you've been."

Ross raised his voice and leaned forward. "I'm nothing like my father!"

"No." He pushed his open palm forward, chuckling nervously. "No you're right. You're not your father." It was difficult to be anything but vengeful, and even harder remaining calm. "What you are is frightened, backed into a corner with no way out. You know you can't escape your dad, and you know you can't escape what's coming. You're afraid…you won't kill her, but maybe you're hoping for your own death."

"Fuck. You."

"In some strange, twisted way, you don't want anything to happen. So just let her go." Jason took a deep breath and started to step forward, but moved his foot back the instant he saw Ross twitch. Trina shut her eyes and struggled to hold her breath. "Let her go, she doesn't need to be a part of this."

"I let her go, you shoot me. What do you take me for?"

"Please," Trina cried, "Just let me go."

Seeing her like this broke Jason's heart. He knew she was strong, much stronger than this; but he also understood the reason. She continued to plea and whimper, but Ross held his glare.

"Okay." Jason crouched low, setting his gun on the ground. "I'm putting down my weapon." His eyes remained focused on Trina as he tried to think of how to get her out of this situation. "See Ross, no weapon." He stood, holding his palms open. "Trina…Trina, listen to my voice."

"Now what are you doing?" Ross growled and jerked his hand forward. "I'm in control here."

"Trina. Talk to me."

"I-I'm scared, Jason. I'm so scared."

"I know you are. I'm here for you." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, ignoring any protest or aggravated shout coming from Ross. "Trina, I want you to think about our place. Think about where we first met, the place you love." She took a deep and trembling breath. He smiled gently as the vision came to his mind. "Think about that place on a moonlit night. Think about the ducks playing together, and how the moon's glow fills the light. I want you to focus on that…focus on that for me, can you do that?"

She nodded fearfully, opening her eyes slowly and turning a sideways glance to Ross. He had her in the worst way, held at knifepoint with the very knife he threatened her with years before. "Don't look at him, don't allow your mind to leave that place." Trina shut her eyes, gasping softly. "That lake is your safe place, Trina. You're safe there, protected. Nothing can hurt you."

Ross started to growl, his brow furrowing as he started to move his hand towards his hip. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but I don't like it." Glancing for a second beyond Ross, he saw the door to the bathroom open partially. Gary poked his head in and started to nod.

"Trina, do you remember what I showed you?" Trina's body started to relax and she sniffled. "You're stronger than he is. I want you to know that. You're strong, that's what I love about you."

"I'm not strong."

"You are. You can get away from him. He's afraid, maybe more afraid than you are right now. He isn't going to hurt you, but he sure as hell is going to use you; but you can get away."

Ross curled his eyebrows together and glanced sideways, his mind clearly preoccupied by the situation at hand. "How in the hell is she going to get away from me? She's stuck."

"Trina, you're not stuck." Trina whimpered as Ross started to pull the knife slightly away from her neck. "You _are_ strong. Mentally, physically…you're strong, you're beautiful, and you are more capable than anyone of protecting yourself. You can get away from him right now, you know how. You're in the perfect pose for the technique…"

"Please don't let him hurt me, Jason."

"I won't let anything happen to you." He had one hand lowered, ready to crouch and grab his gun at the minute Ross made any sudden movements. Even still, he had the man figured out. Ross was only holding her so Jason would be at a standstill and give in to whatever it was he wanted.

"Ross, you have demands I'm sure?"

"Of course I do." Trina inhaled as Ross pointed with the knife. "I want you to get the fuck out of here. Just let me go. She comes with me."

"Ross, I think you know well that's not going to happen. This place is crawling with officers. Where will you go?" Ross muttered and groaned.

"There's a fire escape. I'm sure I can get out somehow. Either way, you're in the way. Now, I don't want to have to kill you, but if you don't step aside and let me through…"

"You don't want to kill me? Really now?" So long as he could keep Ross focused on him, he knew Trina was capable of escape. Ross was distracted, his knife was away from her neck, and her hands were free. "Why don't you want to kill me? I'm the one thing standing in between you and her aren't I?"

"I'm not worried about that."

"I see." Gary was sliding closer, moving carefully and crouched low to the ground. He had his pocketknife in his right hand and looked ready to pounce, but Trina had to get away first.

Jason wasn't as confident as he appeared, a great fear gnawed away at him and he kept praying Ross wouldn't turn and take Trina's life on the spot. There was no opening to getting him from where he stood, so he was essentially powerless.

Now a greater fear was that Ross might detect Gary, and in doing so, kill Trina. "What would you do if you took her life?" He squinted and Ross made a grunting noise. "Everything you've tried to do, you've done because you want her to yourself, right? If that's the case…what would you do?"

Ross glanced at Trina, studying her for a few seconds. "Also, you say you're not your father, and yet you're controlling her. Keeping her from making her own choices. How is she going to be happy without free will?"

"Shut up. You don't know anything."

"Come on Ross, let her go. Your father's already caused her to lose her mom and dad, how much more pain are you going to put her through than what's already been done? If there's any shred of humanity in you whatsoever…you'll let her go."

Ross huffed and puffed several times, his wet eyes leaking the tears he'd been holding onto. "I wanted to kill my father. I didn't know what to do. He's the monster, not me. I'm no monster."

"I'm not going to call you a monster, but I am going to just point out where you stand right now." He took a step forward, reaching his hand out. Ross moved the knife back towards Trina's neck and gave a warning growl as she pulled her head back. "Right, don't worry Ross, I'm just extending a hand to you. I think we both want her to be safe."

Ross flared his nostrils. His muscles loosened a bit and Trina started to open her eyes. She looked into Jason's and he gave her a reassuring smile. Her eyebrows curled together and her hands, having risen up, were no longer trembling. "I love you," he whispered to her. She smiled back, weak but tender. "Always and forever."

"What?" Ross jerked his head back. "What are you doing right now?"

He ignored Ross, continuing to gaze into her eyes. "I won't leave you, Trina. You have nothing to fear. You can trust me, always. I will always be there for you. You're safe. You just have to get away from him…you can do this."

Trina took a deep breath, her chest rising and her lips pressing firmly together. It happened in a manner of seconds, she performed the technique he'd shown her and Jade. Her hand clamped onto Ross's wrist, twisting it downwards sharply and she bit down on his arm, tearing away at his skin.

Ross screamed out in pain, flinging his free arm out as she started to turn. "Motherfucker!" Blood spilled from the bite on his arm and Trina slammed a closed fist into his jaw, forcing him to release her.

He staggered back, throwing his hand to his wound. Trina ran towards Jason, her tears dripping into the air. He pulled his arms around her, holding her close and turning sideways with her as she curled her fingers around his shirt and pressed her face against his chest, letting her tears soak through.

"Goddamn you," Ross growled, "Goddamn you!" He grabbed his gun and aimed for Jason, but before he could pull the trigger, Gary lunged forward. In one foul sweep, Gary slashed across the man's waist and lower back with his knife, causing his body to jerk forward. He let out a painful scream, his body trembling as he sank down to his knees.

Gary pulled the gun from Ross and slammed an elbow down against the back of his head, forcing him to the ground.

Jason swept his fingers through Trina's hair, whispering to her as she wept. "It's okay Trina, you're safe now. You're safe. He won't hurt you again." Gary rose up, shaking off his arms and looking over with a proud smile.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Trina muttered through her sobs. "I didn't think we'd make it. I was…so scared…" He gently kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him. "You still love me? A-After everything…" She stuttered and shook her head. "You won't want to be with me. You deserve someone…someone that's not broken."

"You're not broken, you're perfect." He tucked a finger under her chin and gently slid his thumb along her cheek. "You're perfect, and nothing could tear me from you."

Fresh tears erupted from her eyes and she shook her head as though disbelieving. "H-He did it again, Jason." Jason closed his eyes and she lowered her head to his chest. "I'm so sorry. I'm so…forgive me…I thought he'd let momma go."

"That's not your fault." Jason smoothed her hair back, kissing her hairline gently. "You have nothing to apologize for." He looked down at Ross, who was bemoaning a loss of feeling in his legs and rolling from side to side. His eyes turned back to Trina and he squeezed her gently in the hug. "Let's get you out of here, Trina. The police should be able to handle things from here."

"Tori?" She raised her head. "Is Tori safe? Danny took her…I couldn't protect her, I couldn't stop him."

"She's safe. She's with Andre and Jade right now." Trina chuckled painfully and closed her eyes.

"Those two…Jesse and Sinjin were right."

"Yeah, I could hardly believe it myself." Police started to enter the office along with the Colonel and his men. They applied temporary bandages to Ross's wounds and grabbed him off the floor. "Gary's right here too, Trina."

Trina turned her head and smiled as Gary approached and extended his hand. "Hey sweetheart." She put her hand in his, breathing in sharply.

"Hey Dad." Jason understood it and smiled, realizing how both men were the girls' father. "Is…"

"Dave didn't make it, I'm afraid." Gary frowned and Trina looked down. "Let's get you out of here and home. You don't need to be in this place anymore. Tori's waiting outside, I'm sure."

Or likely the hospital, which Jason knew was where Trina-and Gary-would wind up having to go. Once they made it to the ground floor and the paramedics approached, Trina clutched Jason's shirt firmly. "Don't leave me," She whispered to him. Jason held up a finger to the medics and they waited a bit away, understanding the gesture.

"I'm not going anywhere." He guided her to the ambulance, moving slowly to let her regain her familiarity with walking. He had every intention of getting in the ambulance with her. "I'm not going to leave your side, Trina."

"Where's Tori?" Trina grabbed her shirt and looked around. "Why don't I see her?"

"She's already at the hospital," the Colonel answered.

"Can I see her?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe it's finally over." Trina looked one last time at the facility and Jason followed her gaze, narrowing her eyes at the place. "I never want to see that place again…"

* * *

And they're out of there. I debated for a long time whether or not I was going to have Ross die, but my coworker said it she liked it better that he be paralyzed and put to prison for life. Well, Trina's out of there, making her the last Vega left. There's a couple chapters left to close up loose ends and whatnot, but the danger is pretty much over


	26. Friendly Advice

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 26 (Friendly Advice)

Trina's hospital room was quiet and felt strangely warm as Jade entered it. She figured it was most likely she that was warm, though. On the hospital bed, Trina lay with her eyes closed and forearms folded across her belly. Jason sat beside her, sporting a new touch of stubble, he was bent over with his elbows bent on the bed and hands enclosed at his forehead.

She made her approach, carefully placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "How is she?" Jason raised his head and let out a soft exhale while gazing at Trina. Her face appeared to tense every now and then. Her muscles tensed, only to relax when Jason reached down to caress her hand.

"She's sleeping. The hospital wants her and Tori to stay for observation." He reached across Trina, gently sweeping the hair from her face. "She was up most of the night, of course, so we just stayed up talking."

"What did you talk about?"

"Everything, and then nothing. We just found stuff to talk about to keep the mind going or just to fill the silence." She nodded, understanding how he meant. She glanced at Trina with a hopeful smile, feeling confident that the girl could make it through this.

"I'm surprised you're not with your uncle." His eyebrow rose and her face grew red with embarrassment as she knew he would rather be with Trina right now. "Or well, not surprised, but…" He chuckled, bowing his head.

"I know what you mean. He's off accepting rewards. He says he doesn't care much about them, but I think he's happy to be getting the recognition. I could be at his side offering support, but I'm not needed there."

"Right. You're needed here, beside your girlfriend."

"Exactly." Hell, Ian was over in Tori's room right now, hence the reason she was here. Jason ran a finger over his lip and smirked gently. "We spoke of you as well." Her eyebrows rose and he turned his head to her. "She was joking about maybe having to have a talk with you, treating you like you treat the girls that get close to your boyfriend." Her jaw dropped open and, unable to be offended, she started to laugh. "She says thank you, by the way." She hummed as he glanced away from her. "For keeping me level and grounded, she knows it was difficult, and god knows what could have happened if you weren't there."

"I think I'm honored she would think that about me." She put her hand to her chest and leaned sideways against the wall, gazing out at Trina. The group had come a long way as a whole from being the very people that would ridicule the girl, now they were going to work on the way they behaved and came across; but each of them knew their friendship with Tori now lay in the hands of the sisters. "I don't want to seem pushy and know the girls need time to heal, but did she say anything to give you a guess about whether or not…" He glanced at her solemnly, his lips pursed just a tiny bit and his brow heavy.

"You're wanting to know where Trina stands with you guys?" She dropped her gaze momentarily, listening to his large inhale. "She's grateful for everything you've done. She told me she feels like personally, she doesn't know whether to trust you all or not. You've caused her a lot of pain in the past, and she already didn't trust you guys before all of this…and she's had enough of being hurt. She needs time to think about where she stands."

"I understand." The tears started to well up in her eyes and she looked at the wall as if looking through it to Tori's room. Part of her hoped Trina would be well enough to say it would be okay for them to still be friends with Tori. "I know from what we've learned, the things Tori does hinges on what her family tells her."

"It does, and Trina already told me she's not going to tell Tori one way or another whether or not she can have you guys around." Her breathing hitched and she held onto the breath, feeling her heart rising. "She would probably prefer the others not come around her too much, which I find amusing because that means she doesn't mind _you_."

Jade cupped a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh and raising her eyebrows high. "Wow. You're kidding." She knew the girls well enough to know she'd typically be the first person they'd want to cast off into the ocean if possible. "Me? Why does her opinion of me change so much? I'm the last person in the world she'd want to see, or that's what I'd think anyway…"

"I think it has to do with me." He sat upright and looked to the life monitor at Trina's bedside. "She asked me if I thought you were a bad person and I told her you helped keep me stable. So, she told me since I had little issue with you, that maybe she could try and see something good…however, you're in the same boat with the others. The girls need time, and they need to tell you this themselves. I can't be the one to answer the question, and neither can Ian-by the way."

"Ian? You think I'd ask Ian?"

"You're asking _me_." She blushed and Jason shot her a knowing smirk. "If I were a betting man, I would wager you'd be thinking of asking Ian next if Tori wasn't up and talking like Trina's not." He had her pegged, she hated to admit it, but he must have figured her out well during their chats together. "I'd be cautious anyway. Right now Ian has less of an opinion of you guys than I do, and that's just because his opinion might not have changed where I've been working alongside you this whole time and had the chance to see firsthand how you've changed."

"Right. He wouldn't know very much about our role in everything. He knows we were looking into it, but not that we were so directly involved."

"Exactly." She had to wonder Gary's opinion of them too, but in an effort not to appear selfish, she wasn't going to ask anything more on the subject. This wasn't about her or the others, it was about offering to be there for the girls during their recovery.

A smirk spread over her face and she walked towards the bed, wrapping her fingers around the metal bar of the bed's end. "I'm amazed she'd want me around either with as much as you and I have talked to one another. Beck could tell you, I'd be all over him for spending even the smallest amount of time with another girl." Jason closed his eyes, his own smirk spreading wide.

"I don't want to offend you by saying the answer to that statement." She jerked back and crossed her arms, still retaining her playful smirk.

"Oh go right ahead, I want to know."

"Trina can get jealous, but she's also confident in our relationship. She's always been that way, she knows I'm not going to step out on her, and that I'm always going to be loyal to her. She has her own insecurities, and from time to time thinks that I'd prefer to be with someone that hasn't gone through the things she has, but knows at the end of the day where I'm going to be."

She felt a sharp pang in her chest and lowered her arms. "Ouch." It was romantic still, and brought a tear to her eye to hear that; but his statement made her question her own irrationalities regarding Beck. "Not to mention, it wouldn't happen would it? You'd never leave her for someone else, much less me, so she probably wouldn't feel threatened."

"That's correct."

"Yeah. "I've never been through the trauma Trina has, and for her to be so secure about her relationship with you…" She chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not going to lie, you are a stud." He chortled and turned his head away, flashing a wide and embarrassed grin. "But if she can be so secure, given what she's gone through, I think that amazes me. I'm impressed with her, maybe even more, and now I need to maybe think about why I act like that with Beck…I've been trying to hold back a lot…"

"Yeah, and by the way she'd be flattered by a woman saying what you just did about me."

"Well, that's cause she's got you, right? You're with her, she's landed a hot ass military man so why wouldn't she be flattered that other women might envy her?"

"Sure, I guess. I wouldn't put it that way, but yeah…have you asked Beck what he thinks about a lot of stuff? Is he the jealous type?"

"Not really jealous, but I think maybe I'll talk to him and see about us working on a stronger relationship." Jason nodded at the idea and reached for Trina's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Like Jason and Trina, she'd sat up talking to Beck most of the night before about a number of things going on. "He's a little nervous about continuing a friendship with Tori, I think."

"Why is that?"

"He wants to, but he knows there's a lot of issue surrounding him. I mean, he's tried to use Tori as a rebound once."

"It's in the past."

"Maybe, but maybe not. He worries Ian may not like him coming around much. He also feels guilty about what he did to Trina, and lying to Mr. Vega. I don't know, but he has a lot of guilt and says he thinks he's going to be apart from the girls for a while, give them some space and time to think things through."

"Then maybe it's for the best. If he doesn't feel comfortable going on, then it would be unfair for both him and the girls if he did."

"Yeah, Robbie's along the same lines too, I think. Cat was telling me about the talk they had while we were all at the facility, and he just feels too guilty-more than Beck does-so he's probably going to give some space too. As for me, as for Andre and Cat, we want to try our best to be there for the girls."

"Good, they'll need that. They'll need consistency too. So if your heart is in it, be there for them and be good. Don't hurt them, don't do things that cause them pain, and if you need to take time away to refresh, then do it. That's my advice." He curled his fingers under his chin and his eyelids fell halfway. "My advice. They need friends who are at their best, don't half-ass it. Don't say you're not going to hurt them, and then the next day go right back to insulting them. Say what you mean, do what you say."

He took a breath, his shoulders rising and his head tilting just enough for her to look out at her. "Because I can guarantee you. As much as I respect you and the others right now, if you went right back to insulting them or treating them poorly, it would be me keeping you away from the girls. I promise you that."

She held her breath, steadying herself and relaxing her muscles. "I believe you." In fact, she'd have it no other way. If they did something wrong or somehow hurt the girls in some terrible way and he told them to get lost, she would leave. "I would expect that from you too. You should want to protect them and keep them safe."

"They don't have anyone else right now besides Gary, Ian and myself. Beyond each other, we're the only ones left that they feel like they can trust. So if you want to be friends, be their friend…start over, start fresh, but be genuine and consistent. That's all."

"I understand." She locked her hands together in front of her waist and smiled at Trina. The girl looked relaxed, more so than when Jade had entered the room. Her breathing was slow and easy, and she had almost a serene expression on her face. "What will you do, Jason? I think the last time we spoke, you were considering some changes of your own."

"Yeah." He swept his hand through his hair and shut his eyes. "I'm going to leave the military. At least for now." Her jaw fell open and she did a double take, staring at the solemn and strong look on his face. "I need to be there for Trina and for her sister, give my all to them. The military would have me travel, take me at odd times and keep me away. I'd already thought about it before, but back then Trina didn't mind the thought of leaving home or going wherever the military took me. She once told me she wouldn't mind being a military wife, but now neither of us are sure that's the right way to go."

Jade stepped forward, looking him in the eyes. "Are you sure about this? I mean, you talked with Trina about it?" He sighed, his hand caressing his girlfriend's.

"We talked about it last night, and we'll probably talk more about it later; but Trina means everything to me. I love what I do in the military, and I love helping my country, but Trina comes first in my life. She needs me, probably more than ever."

"Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it'll be the right choice. You've got a good head on your shoulders and the military, I think, could always use someone like you." Jade knelt beside his chair and placed her fingers on the armrest. Her heartbeat felt as though it was beginning to slow, and a somber feeling swept through her. "Maybe let me give you some advice too?"

"Go for it."

"When my mom died, I felt lost. I was lost for a very long time." Jason frowned, his eyes moving downwards. Jade looked to the side, her eyes growing moist. "I needed her." She chuckled sadly and shook her head. "If it were me laying where Trina is, going through the things she has, I would be petrified…every day…wondering if you were going to come home. Or if you were laying out there like my mother, dead in some field, leaving me lost and alone all over again."

Her fingers trembled and she bowed her head. A tear ran down the side of Jason's face and he leaned over Trina, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Jade gasped softly, thinking only of her mother, and tensed her fingers around the small arm of the chair. "Now I'm not saying you should leave the military, I think you have a lot to offer it, but maybe the military can wait. I don't know where Trina stands on the matter, and she might tell you just to do what makes you happy…she might not want to tell you to leave it, but in her heart she might want you to stay with her."

"I would rather be with her. She's what makes me happy, not the military."

"Then you have your answer." She stood slowly and looked to the door with a sigh. "I think I'm going to go ahead and leave the two of you alone."

"Thank you." She approached the door and carefully grasped the door handle. She was troubled still by the ordeal she and Andre had gone through with Danny, but it seemed so small now. "Jade." She paused turning the handle and looked over at Jason. "I think the girls would appreciate you all being at their parents' funeral. It might show a bit of respect for David and Holly as well."

"We'll be there. All of us."

"Good. I hope you're healing well by the way. After that ordeal with the gas and all."

She smiled, grateful for his concern. "Andre and I are okay. It's more important to us that we got Tori out of there alive. Danny wasn't so lucky." Danny had been hit by a couple of the bullets going through his window, and some shards of glass-one of which sliced through his wrist. He died from the blood loss, a great irony. "You hear what the Governor is considering regarding Chief Ross?"

"What?"

"The crime was so egregious, the betrayal and utter misuse of the police department by its highest rank and the destruction of a well-respected cop's family as well as a former Navy Seal…some people in the public are so angry they're calling for the death penalty, and the Governor is considering it."

"Wow." Jason whistled and shook his head. "Bastard deserves it. Hell, I would think Ross deserves it himself."

"Yeah. If it happens, it'd be the first death sentence received by California since '92, I think. The first execution in this state since 2006. I'd be amazed if Ross only got life, but considering his role, who knows."

"Yeah who knows?" Jason looked up. "You should probably be with Beck right now, I would think. He and Sam are probably getting some awards too, now that I think about it."

"Yeah, they're thrilled. Maybe Beck can finally move up from being Sikowitz's 'glorified assistant'." She smirked and Jason laughed. "Maybe I really am destined to be a cop's wife."

"I don't see why you couldn't be a cop yourself."

"It's not for me." She still couldn't stand all the blood and the stress. It was tearing her apart that they couldn't save David or Holly, for that matter. Sikowitz even told her, there would always be the ones you simply can't save. "We came so close to losing Tori, almost as close as it sounds like it came with Trina…I, I can't deal with that kind of stress. I don't know how Beck does it, but I think I'd much rather be the supportive girlfriend of a rookie cop than an actual cop."

"Ah, the stress of only worry rather than the stress of duty. Something like that."

"I guess…anyway, take it easy. Let us know when Trina gets to feeling better." Jason nodded and gently caressed Trina's face. Trina looked to be stirring, her eyes opening briefly to meet his loving gaze. Jade closed her eyes and chuckled as she thought, if only for a brief second, that she could potentially be envious of the girl. "Trina's lucky to have you Jason, I'm sure she knows that." She pushed open the door and stepped out, letting out a trembling breath of air and furrowing her brow. She glanced up and smiled when she saw Beck walking down the hall. "Not off accepting your awards?"

"Nah." He walked up alongside her and kissed her temple. "I couldn't stand it. Had to be here for you, they can honor me without my presence if they like. How are the girls faring?"

"Sleeping. Both of them." She placed her head on his shoulder and he ran an arm around her lower back. "Know where the others are?"

"They're around. Ian's in there with Tori right now, and I think she's actually starting to wake up, so no one wants to bother them." That sounded fair. She wanted to catch up with the others anyway.

"Lord only knows what's going on with all of them right now. Jason had some good advice, so I guess we should go catch up with them." Beck nodded and the two of them walked off to find their friends. "I wonder what'll happen to the Vega home."

"The girls will probably move in with Gary, and what happens to the house sounds like it's in his hands somehow. He may sell it, or leave it for the city to condemn. I'm pretty sure no one in that family wants to even look at that place right now."

* * *

Well what do you think? They had a good talk it seems, some good things to say. What are your thoughts on Jason's advice to Jade, and vice versa? What does the future hold, we shall see.


	27. Moving Forward

A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

Chapter 27 (Moving Forward)

The group didn't get a lot of chance to talk to Tori or Trina in the days that passed, mostly because everyone was still recovering and the girls were busy trying to recuperate. They had also been spending most their time with Gary and moving in with him.

The girls did give the go-ahead for them to help sort things out in their former home, mostly because they didn't feel comfortable going into the house yet.

Taking Jason's advice they did attend the funeral for David and Holly, but the minute they arrived at the chapel, they felt out of place. Most of the people there were relatives that didn't know much about them other than them being 'the friends that made fun of the family'.

Jade had to step out of the church to avoid the judgmental looks being given by some of the people that didn't understand. She was half tempted to take off running, but the girls wanted them there so she knew better. "How do I do this?" She sat on the chapel's stone steps, almost falling as she sank to them, and looked up in the direction of the cool wind's breeze. "No one in there knows how much we've changed."

"So ignore the unimportant people." She flinched and saw Sinjin walking up from the right. With him was Jesse, wearing a sling over his left arm and bruises all along his body. He didn't look so bad, she thought, for someone that landed in a pickup truck from an upper story home. "What do you care what people that don't matter think? Or, people who won't change their view one way or another."

"You don't get it. They do matter. They're the extended family, and all they know of us are the negative things." Jade glanced down and pulled her knees into her chest. She never felt so much like this before, where the opinions of others made any kind of impact on her. It was eye-opening, and somewhat startling. "I've never felt this kind of insecurity before…I've never felt like I needed people to like me, but they don't know me. They don't understand me." She raised her head up and gasped. "If they'd give me a chance, they might like me."

She heard a door close behind her and twisted around to see Tori standing on the top step. Trina was just behind her, arms crossed and sympathetic gaze falling down her nose towards Jade. Sinjin and Jesse looked up to the two sisters and slowly made their way past them into the chapel.

"That's how it was like for me," Tori said finally with a shaky breath. The girl tucked her hair behind her ear and sat down beside her. Jade felt a nervous twitch in her forehead and smiled sadly. "I wanted to know I was liked, that I was worth something to someone." Tori pat her chest. "That I mattered to someone outside of my family."

"Me too," Trina replied with a hesitant breath. "Jason's often said to me 'The person whose opinion of you that should matter most, is your own'. I guess he's right." Trina walked down the steps, taking a slow and heavy breath while looking out at the area that surrounded them. "Our uncle saw you come out here, so we thought we'd come and talk before the service started…"

"We also ran into your dad." Tori nudged Jade with her shoulder and her eyebrows rose. Jade's face turned red and she looked away, pondering what her father was still doing there. He'd become incredibly protective of her as of late, fretting and worrying about her. "He was going on about his company."

"Oh yeah!" She snapped her fingers, remembering her father's suggestion. "My dad employs some of the best counselors ever. If you wanted to do therapy, you might consider one of the counselors there…I have one that actually really helped me out." The sisters looked to each other, and after a second nodded and turned back to her

"We'll consider it," Trina replied, "I actually have been thinking about getting some counseling anyway." Trina's brow furrowed as she looked into the distance. The woman swallowed and turned back to the church. "I'm going to go head inside, talk to Jason for a while." Tori started to rise up to follow her, but hesitated as Trina flashed a smile. "Sit and talk to your friend, Tori. You have some stuff you want to talk about, don't you?"

Jade looked up with hope and earnest as Tori stumbled over her words. "I guess. Yeah, it's time." Trina held open the door and smiled lovingly at the girl. "Maybe you could find the others, I'd like to talk to them too…Could you and Jason come out too? Also dad." She furrowed her brow at the girl, sensing the hesitation and tremble over her last couple words. Trina's voice lowered to a whisper.

"Sure you want to call him that in front of-"

"It's okay Trina."

Trina paused, holding her breath for a few lengthy seconds before retreating into the chapel. Tori dusted off her pants and sat back down with Jade. Her breathing was shaky and her eyes seemed distant. "Gary and David are both our dads, Jade." Jade blinked twice, shocked by the revelation. She could sense Tori's hesitation in telling the information, and was a bit uneasy because she didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable.

Tori looked down, her arms straight and locked as her fingertips curled on her knees. "Our mom was our mom. It's kind of complicated, kind of hard to understand from an outsider's view, but there was never an affair, Mom never cheated on anyone."

"Are you okay with opening up like this? You know you don't have to, only when you're ready. I'll be there for you as a friend."

"Will you?" Tori's eyes narrowed and she glanced over, as though skeptical. "I mean, I know you used to hate me. Mostly because of Beck, I think."

"Yeah well." Jade looked away with a laugh, her face turning a darker shade of red. "I can't talk anymore. I actually think it's great that other girls find him attractive, and I like that I have him and no one else can." Tori raised an eyebrow, smirking as though she caught the reference. "Like Trina and Jason."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"A secret that stays between me and you only." Jade turned to her and took Tori's hands, gripping them gently and looking into her widening and trembling eyes. "I'll trust you with this, and you can trust me."

"Jade?" Tori's lips spread wide, and for a moment, it looked like she already had her pegged.

"Nothing is ever going to come of this, because I love Beck with all my heart and would never hurt him. I'm kind of jealous of Trina, or well maybe of Trina and Jason. I think it's just a small little crush, but yeah he seems nice." She nodded fervently and Tori pulled her hands away and sighed, still smiling.

"You have a crush on Jason. Fantastic. At least you realize nothing will ever happen there."

"Right, and I would absolutely _never_ pursue; but I kind of get what happened when we all first met. That's my point." Tori raised a hand to her chin and tilted her head. "My point is…I was jealous because I could see in that brief moment, you had a crush on Beck. Trina would never see me as a threat, so-"

"She'd probably kick the ass of any woman that tried to come close to Jason."

"There is that." Jade chuckled nervously and turned her head away, thinking still of all that she and Trina had in common these days. So it seemed. "But my point is, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever treating you poorly, and I know the others are too."

"Yeah, I know." Exhaustion hung on the girls' response, leaving Jade speechless as Tori rose to her feet. "They've been apologizing profusely to me. I just…I guess I just haven't been ready to talk. To anybody." As Tori turned around, her breath hitched and she tensed up as all her friends proceeded out of the chapel with Trina, Jason and Gary in tow. "Oh…"

"You wanted to see us?" Beck stepped beside Jade, looking to Tori as he put an arm around Jade's shoulders. Tears welled up in Tori's eyes as she grabbed the small handrail beside the steps.

The door opened one final time and Ian stepped outside. Tori met his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way to her and took her hand in his. "My boyfriend. This is my boyfriend, Ian Dennison, from Sherwood High, a place I loved just as much as Hollywood Arts…" Ian waved at the group, and the others nodded respectfully. "Hollywood Arts and Sherwood have two different things for me, hobbies and stuff I enjoy, and then knowledge and, well, other passions and things I love doing."

"So tell us a little about Sherwood," Andre said with a smile. Tori smiled back, happy to see them taking an interest.

"Sherwood's actually a public high school, just like a lot of other schools. They do have fun activities, a lot of great clubs, and well…" She chuckled nervously as a look of pride flashed in Ian's eyes. "I was president of the science club one year and that's how I met Ian, actually."

Ian motioned to her, laughing gently. "She's not being fully honest. We had a class together that year and she never talked to me until I went to science club after school."

"I was shy!"

"You still are, dear." Tori blushed and Ian kissed her temple. Jade enjoyed seeing this side of Tori, a side she hadn't quite seen before. Looking at the others, she could see the same in their eyes.

Tori shook herself and grinned. "So I love science. I once took a program offered by Sherwood to volunteer at an animal shelter and study veterinary medicine for a little bit; and oh my god I want to be a veterinarian more than anything."

"She's not joking." Ian smirked. "Put a puppy in front of her and the rest of her day she'll be playing with the dog and not paying attention to anything else. Even her boyfriend." The others laughed as Tori's face turned redder.

It was clear they liked Ian, and as Tori saw this, she seemed to relax and grow more comfortable. "I'm telling the story," she said with a playful whine. Ian chuckled softly and moved an arm around her waist. "But yeah…that's just a part of who I am, who I've always been, I just wanted to be accepted and was afraid none of you would accept someone you might consider a nerd."

"We accept Robbie," Beck jokingly added. Robbie shot him a glare and Tori laughed. "But no, of course we all accept you Tori."

"Good, because there's a lot about my life and my family that well, you don't know and, well…" Tori ran her hand along her arm and looked down. "It'll take some time."

"We're going to be here for you," Cat replied, "Because we want to be. We're your friends, Tori, and that's the way it is." Tori smiled and looked to Gary, who gave her a simple nod.

"You'd have to accept my family too." The others stated their collaborative agreement of the matter and Jade awaited the next bit of info. "Like my parents had a three way relationship, kind of like a pact formed when they were kids." Tori appeared nervous as a silence fell over everyone. "They all loved each other, it wasn't even a love triangle…Mom was and will always be our mom, she gave birth to us; but we have two dads. It never was even a thought to question which one actually fathered us, but both have always been a part of our lives…So if you judge them, you judge me."

"We won't judge," Robbie replied, "Believe me. I think that's cool actually." He smiled as Gary looked over to him. "Also, I think I speak for everyone here when I say this: If you need space, we will give you space. If you want us to be judgment free, we will be that. We are your friends, we will remain your friends if you'll have us. We're here for you."

"Thank you." Tori gave him a smile and closed her eyes. "Trina actually thinks you guys have potential too." She chuckled slightly and Trina rolled her eyes, casting a smile upon the group. "Just yeah, give us a little time to ourselves. To recover…"

"Sure," Jade remarked, "You know where and how to reach us."

Jade cried during the ceremony, something she wasn't sure she'd do. There had been a few funerals she'd been to where she'd not shed a tear. Even for some of her own relatives, but for Mr. and Mrs. Vega she couldn't help but to feel a string of emotions that kept her from being able to conceal her tears.

Beck was beside her, gripping her hand and squeezing it gently. His eyes were moist as well. In the back of her mind she wondered if she could have saved them, but she knew there was nothing that could have been done.

As time went on, Jade found herself grateful for Jason even more as he was able to fill Trina in on everything. With that, Trina didn't have a problem with their presence-which Tori would have likely kept them away if she did. Even after the trial, Tori and Trina both came to the group with tears.

Indeed the former Police Chief had been sentenced to death, and Ross had been given life with the possibility of parole in sixty years. Jade thought Ross's sentence was light, but at the end of the day she knew it mattered little what his sentence was. The crucial element was the Vega survivors, and the fact that they were thriving the best that they could.

For Trina, Jason proved a good supportive role that could help her through her own trauma. Jade's dad provided discounted rates for the girls and Gary to talk to the counselors at his practice; and of course this gave them licensed therapy at an astounding and affordable rate.

All in all, this was a family of survivors, and Jade knew they would become stronger no matter what.

* * *

That ends this tale, thank you to all who read this, I hope you enjoyed it and will enjoy future works.


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